The best picnic blankets to elevate al fresco cookouts

FORTNUM & MASON

• Pros: Elegant and iconic design
• Machine washable: Wipe clean only

It's no huge surprise that the London department store best known for its luxurious wicker hampers has also perfected the picnic blanket. This is a typically sophisticated take on the park banquet essential, complete with composite leather handles for easy carrying and patterned with Fortnum's own Eau de Nil and bright yellow tartan check.

AMAZON

• Pros: Brilliant value for a timeless look
• Machine washable: No; hand wash or wipe down

We really like the sort of Cape Cod/New England stylings of this large picnic throw, which is best deployed on white sand dunes on a gently blustery day. Though it comes in four colourways, the Good Gain blanket’s black and white scheme is easily the most classic, with a cotton blend canvas top that is water and sand-resistant, and an underside that will keep you dry. It also has buckled white straps with which to wrap it up, which are very much in keeping with that whole beach house aesthetic. Take it camping, picnicking, hiking – whatever you like – and know that at £17-ish it’s both great value and remarkably sturdy for its price.

MATCHES FASHION

• Pros: Works as a general throw due to the lack of waterproof backing
• Machine washable: Dry clean

While it may not come equipped with the waterproof lining of those more dedicated picnic blankets, get yourself a version that also doubles as something that'll elevate your home décor and you'll have a win-win investment on your hands. Pendleton's option is one of the more luxe throws around.

Picnic Mat Oversized Picnic Blanket Waterproof Large Thick Gingham for Beach Mats

THE RANGE

• Pros: Classic and hardy blanket
• Machine washable: Not stated

This one really feels like a classic; the sort of blanket that AA Gill would have taken up into the Highlands when he showed Anthony Bourdain how to stalk and shoot a stag, and taste its blood (on Parts Unknown; Google it). In army green with a purple heather-like cheque, it does indeed feel Scottish through and through, and comes with a waterproof PVC backing that will protect against any lingering dampness wherever you should choose to sit and picnic. An unobtrusive handle stitched into the blanket itself makes for easy wrapping up and carrying, letting you take this tartan up even the most inaccessible of moors.

NATIONAL TRUST

• Pros: Beautiful design, pure wool, made in the UK
• Machine washable: Cold machine wash only

We’re utterly enamoured with this throw, whose multicolour fishbone stripes make for a gently muted rainbow pattern in soft, pure wool. This is probably a blanket best used in the summer, when it’s dry, because unlike those heavier blankets which feature waterproof plastic undersides, it’s wool all the way through. The flip side to this is that it’s perfect for indoor use, too – just throw it over an armchair or the end of a bed for a flash of colour or for warmth in the winter months. And if that’s still not enough to convince you, then there’s this: designed for the National Trust, the throw is woven in Yorkshire and finished in Flint in Wales, meaning it’s a British blanket through and through: sustainable and sans air miles.

HEATING & PLUMBING

• Pros: Portble, vibrant and summery design
• Machine washable: Cold wash

If design and pattern are top of your picnic blanket-hunting agenda, this one from Heating & Plumbing is the most summer-friendly one we've found. With bold, bright colours that have a woven pattern and a chic leather strap that makes it easy to roll up and move from place to place, it's ticking all of our boxes. Oh, and it's waterproof too.

DOCK & BAY

• Pros: Practical, can be machine washed, comes in a matching bag
• Machine washable: Machine washable and dryer safe

Nautical stripes give off an instant summery feel, taking us directly to beach days, trips to the coast and summer evenings lounging with a glass of Pimms in the park, which makes it the perfect design aesthetic for your picnic blanket of choice. Dock & Bay's blanket captures this to a tee, but it also is one of the most practical we've found. Pop it into its matching travel bag when you're on the move, feel safe that it's waterproof enough to handle damper settings, stick a parasol in the middle hole if you fancy some shade, and then chuck it in the machine when you're done so it's all ready for the next time.