“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James

There’s something about July that slows everything down to picnic pace – rugs on the grass, baskets packed with good things, and absolutely nowhere else to be. This month, we’re leaning fully into that feeling.

Our Focus On: Picnics (pp. 25-31) is a real treat this issue, taking you from Norfolk’s Top Ten Picnic Spots – golden beaches, ancient parkland and hidden riverside meadows – through to Healthy Picnics, proving a hamper can be nourishing as well as indulgent, and finishing with a nostalgic look back at Retro Picnics, complete with Scotch eggs, Coronation chicken and games that don’t
need batteries.

Green-fingered readers won’t want to miss Essential Jobs To Do In The Garden For July (pp. 8-9), keeping borders, pots and kitchen gardens thriving through the warmest weeks of the year. And for the first time ever, Norfolk hosts its own RHS Flower Show – we’ve got all the details on the RHS Sandringham Flower Show and this year’s showstopping Pollywiggle Garden (pp. 34-35), alongside our usual round-up of Open Gardens across the county (pp. 36–37).

Whatever your July looks like – hamper in hand or hose in the garden – we hope this issue brings you a little extra sunshine. See you in Issue 160!