When you're out exploring the great outdoors, a well packed picnic lunch is all part of the pleasure. At HF Holidays, we’ve taken a closer look at every wrapper, bag and box that accompanies the lunches we prepare each day in our country houses - because even the smallest choices can help protect the landscapes we walk through.

With over a century of experience in creating memorable walking holidays, we’re committed to ensuring the next generation can enjoy these beautiful places, too. That’s why our picnic packaging is now more sustainable, more responsible, and easier for you to recycle.

Keeping your food fresh while keeping waste low is at the heart of our approach.

Our sandwiches and cake slices are wrapped in a lightweight 25micron OPP film. It’s foodsafe, protective, and, most importantly, accepted in mixed recycling by our commercial waste partners. So once your lunch is finished, the packaging doesn’t need to go to landfill; it can go on to become something new.

Bin it in: Mixed recycling

Gone are the days of single-use plastic cutlery. Today, your picnic includes wooden knives, forks and spoons, responsibly sourced and supplied by eGreen, a UK company with over 70 years of experience in sustainable catering solutions.

These sturdy wooden alternatives are easy to recycle and help us significantly reduce plastic waste across all our houses.

Bin it in: Mixed recycling

Our classic brown paper bags do much more than carry your sandwiches. They’re made from recycled paper and can be reused day after day during your holiday. Our team will happily re-use your paper bag each day for your next picnic lunch.

And when it finally reaches the end of its life? It goes straight into mixed recycling.

Bin it in: Mixed recycling

Your salad boxes and condiment pots are made from plant-based, industrially compostable materials created by Vegware, a leading UK manufacturer of ecofriendly food packaging. Although these items aren’t suitable for home composting, they can be fully recycled through our commercial partners.

It’s another simple swap that helps reduce environmental impact without compromising your lunch.

Bin it in: Mixed recycling

Some pre-wrapped treats such as shortbread biscuits or Freddo bars still come in packaging that isn’t widely recyclable. While these items remain guest favourites, we’re actively monitoring the market as suppliers develop more sustainable wrapping options.

Bin it in: General waste

Whether it’s selecting plant-based salad boxes or reusing paper bags, every choice we make helps us reduce waste and support responsible sourcing throughout HF Holidays.

We see sustainability not as a trend, but as a long term commitment. By joining our holidays, you're part of a community taking meaningful steps towards protecting the planet, one picnic at a time.

Find out more

Explore how we're reducing our environmental impact across the whole busines: