IF you are planning on having a picnic this weekend, take a quick trip to today’s Worcestershire Farmers’ Market in Abbey Road, Malvern, and stock up on some of the fantastic foods on offer.

If you have time, buy some of the top quality meats that are on offer and cook them at home to have cold on your trip. There are plenty of varieties of sausage available, including lamb, pork and duck (and many more) from the Vicarage Fruit Farm, Rochford Country Meats and Eye Game Larder stalls. There are plenty more options if you don’t fancy sausages – just wander among the stalls and see what takes your fancy.

You should also stop off at the Country Markets stall and pick up some chutney to have with your cold meat selection.

No picnic is complete without a selection of cakes and other sweet treats. Patricia Van Zyl, of Worcestershire Country Markets, said: “We have lots of cakes and pastries and sweet treats. Of course, you wouldn’t want to take chocolate things on a picnic because they’d melt.

We have lovely flapjacks, shortbread, cupcakes and fairy cakes which come in packets.

“We also have lovely individual versions of large cakes. Although they are sticky, treacle tarts and bakewell tarts would be a lovely treat!”

At Malvern today you will also find the Handmade Scotch Egg company’s stall, selling a huge selection of what must be the perfect compact picnic food.

As well as scotch eggs, they also sell quiches and jumbles.

To round off your picnic, take along a punnet or two of some of Worcestershire’s best strawberries, to either eat as they come or marinated with the zest and juice of an orange and a lemon and sprinkled with caster sugar. Delicious.

You will also need something to drink – a glass or two of fruit wine from the Newtown Wines stall will go down well, as will a range of real fruit juices from Clives Fruit Farm.

There are many options at your local Worcestershire Farmers’ Market, so head to your nearest one and then enjoy your picnic.

This week’s market is in Abbey Road, Malvern, from 9am until 2pm. Next week’s market is in St Peter’s Garden Centre, near Worcester, from 9.30am to 2pm.

For details, visit wfmg.co.uk.