ABSTRACT
Even small picnic sites cost money: very little compared with the costs of other outdoor recreation, but picnicking, unlike camping, is of little benefit to the locality. Part of the operation is to stock up at home; this is an expedition to be provisioned at base. All that is likely to be contributed to the country is litter. It therefore seems quite unrealistic to expect the local authority to foot the bill alone. By the time this is in print it is to be hoped that picnic places, wherever sited, may be eligible for an Exchequer grant. This is vital. The present grant system whereby such provisions within a National Park may be eligible for a 75% grant, does little to ease the overall pressure on our finest countryside. If a substantial grant were available there would be incentive to upgrade those countless dull or down-at-heel sites which are now little good to anyone. The only way to relieve pressure on the existing ‘beauty spots’ is immediately to create new ones: given modern techniques the most desolate site could be transformed in a matter of weeks.
