ABSTRACT
We are repeatedly told to expect a fourfold increase in the number of cars in twenty years. Statistics of this magnitude generally numb. But one thing is clear: any solution of this enormous traffic problem automatically creates another. For an ever-increasing number of car owners the only chance to exercise this expensive and prized possession is the weekend jaunt (incidentally, a fact which is recognized to be of prime importance to the success of the American out-of-town supermarket). Such jaunts must have an objective and for the family outing high priority must be given simply to finding ‘somewhere nice to picnic’. This is in itself the real objective of most such outings; its identity is a secondary consideration. Second perhaps only to the Persians, the British are the most avid picnickers on earth. It seems right that the townsman should enjoy this harmless occupation: his daily grind in office or factory contributes to the countryside’s very existence.
