Is it going to be your 4×4 that has a group clustered around it at picnic time? Will your point-to-point picnic be the ultimate?

Follow our advice and you’ll have standing room only. If it’s cold then you should keep the chill at bay with soup or a warming hipflask.

Point-to-pointing is a ton of fun and an absolute must for a jolly sporting weekend now the season is over.

Our recipes will make your boot a popular destination

Ingredients for a top point-to-point picnic

SAUSAGE ROLLS

Venison sausage rolls are a firm Field favourite.

You cannot go wrong with sausage rolls at a point-to-point picnic. In fact, they are a picnic hamper essential. And the only way to better a sausage roll is to add game. Use our recipe for venison sausage rolls which are sure to be popular. Plenty will be back for seconds but our recipe makes an enormous batch. Or try these pheasant and tarragon sausage rolls if your freezer is still stuffed with pheasants. The season may be over but pigeon is prime eating now, so make woodpigeon sausage rolls – they are quick, simple and delicious. Or for something a little groovy, try wild rabbit rolls. These make larger rolls which are deliciously aromatic, with a rosemary skewer through each.

SCOTCH EGGS

Scotch eggs are a guaranteed picnic crowd pleaser.

Homemade scotch eggs require a lighter touch than sausage rolls, but they make impressive picnic fodder. These pheasant scotch quails eggs are as delicious as the classic, but with an added gamey twist. And this succulent venison scotch egg is simpler to make than you think. You’ll be hard pressed to find a point-to-point punter willing to turn down the meaty exterior and runny yolk.

PASTIES & PIES

Make pasties to add something a little more substantial to your hamper.

If you are looking for something substantial to add to the hamper, pasties and pies are guaranteed favourites. Our pheasant and walnut pasties can be miniaturised if you’d prefer a moreish morsel. And if you have run out of pheasant, venison makes an excellent alternative. Or if your freezer is filled with a rather mixed bag of game, try this game pasty recipe. For perfectly petite pastry parcels, our pheasant, cabbage and cheese pierogi are a popular offering. And finally for a fantastically impressive picnic centrepiece, replace the standard pork pie with a raised game pie. Delicious when served in generous wedges and scoffed from the back of the 4×4.

SOUP

Keep soup handy in a flask for when the weather turns inclement.

When the weather turns inclement, something a little more warming is essential, so keep a flask filled with soup handy. Our Lebanese pheasant broth is warming but not too filling – perfect for when there is plenty more picnic to scoff. And when the weather worsens keep spirits high with game soup. It is nothing short of a miracle worker on chilly days.

SWEET TREATS

Divvy up this tart for point-to-point pud.

Point-to-points call for pud, so keep something sweet in the hamper for when the rest has been scoffed. Our gooseberry, lime and elderflower travel cakes are the perfect moreish morsels to transport to a point-to-point. Or for a chocolate fix, try our pear brownies. For something larger to divvy up, our fruit and almond tart is as delicious cold as it is straight from the oven.

HIP FLASK NIPS

Nothing warms quite like a hip flask nip.

And finally, soup may go some of the way to warming up point-to-point punters but nothing beats the chill quite like a hip flask nip. Elderberry vodka makes great use of an abundant hedgerow harvest and will be much appreciated when the wind whips up. And sloe gin may be popular, but try damson gin for something extra special.

This article was first published in 2017 and has been updated.