Looking to impress your date on your first post-lockdown in-person date together? Or perhaps you and your partner want to avoid the crowds and do something a little bit different?
Made My Date has created a list of the Top 10 Alternative Outdoor Dates to try out this spring/summer:
1.) Barge East Floating Bar & Kitchen, London:
Barge East is nestled on a magical 118 year old Dutch Barge and has a beautiful riverside garden too. This is a great place for a casual lunch or dinner date, or even for a round of drinks with your partner. It’s even better if you are an organic food lover as they grow much of their own produce and also run a weekend local produce market that you and your partner can browse through to take home with you afterwards.
Location: East London – nearest station: Hackney Wick
Price: £
2.) The Cheese Barge, London:
The Cheese Bar on the barge is a lovely, quirky place for a date. As if having a 96ft double decker vessel moored on The Regent’s Canal wasn’t enough they even have a roof terrace that you can enjoy in the sunnier days ahead. This is a perfect spot for a casual date where you and your partner can enjoy nibbles and drinks whilst admiring the views of Paddington Basin. What a cheesy date idea!
Location: Paddington – nearest station:
Price: ££
The Luna Drive thru Cinema experience is back again from the 12th April and there is so much to choose from in their 7 different locations! A great way to take your date to the movies and have the piece of mind that you are staying socially distant by being in the comfort of your own car! They’ve even got a contactless ordering system for your movie snacks!
Location: Various – See website for details and to book
Price: ££
4.) Drive Thru at LevanThyme, London:
LevanThyme is proud of it’s authentic Lebanese and Greek dishes and boasts to bring the mediterranean to the metropolitan area of London. The Drive Thru service allows you to pre-order and pick up their fresh, lovingly prepared dishes on the way to a day trip out with your partner. Situated in the heart of East London, this is a great spot to grab lunch and head over to Victoria Park or the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.
Location: East London – nearest station: Bethnal Green
Price: £
5.) Lunch on the Thames in a GoBoat, London:
Hire a self drive GoBoat for you and your partner and dine in style along the Thames. Impress your date with the vibrant views of London as you steer your boat through Little Venice, the Maida Hill Tunnel, Regent’s Park, London Zoo and Camden Lock. Be sure to bring your own food and drink to enjoy together on board.
Location: Paddington or Kingston Upon Thames – nearest station: Paddington Station or Kingston Overground station
Price: ££
6.) Punting & Picnic Date in Cambridge:
Boasted as the quintessential activity for lovers in Cambridge, you can book the romantic tour for you and your date to really get the best out of a romantic getaway to this beautiful city. The tour takes approximately 1 hour so it’s a good idea to team this up with a tour of the city, sightseeing all the tourist attractions with your partner, and a lovely picnic in one of the many parks and nature attractions in and around the city. We have a lovely Picnic Date Hamper on offer on our website that’s available to order now, https://mademydate.net/picnic-date-hamper/
Location: Cambridge – nearest station: Cambridge Station
Price: ££
Photos courtesy of Sohini Biswa @cambridgebengali
7.) Bike Rides along with Wine and a Cheese Board:
Taking a romantic bike ride with your partner is a sure fire way of avoiding the crowds that are all headed to the beer gardens and rooftop bars from the 12th April. Choose a route that has beautiful scenery or that ends up at a lovely quiet greenland and take some wine and some nibbles along with you to share together at the end.
Why not create your own charcuterie board as an alternative to the traditional picnic! Watch our latest reel video on our Instagram page for tips on how to create the perfect charcuterie board for the two of you to share, https://www.instagram.com/made_my_date/
Location: Non-specific, subscribe to our mailing list for further blogs on best bike routes and road trips in the UK.
Price: ££
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8.) Star Gazing at one of the National Trust locations throughout the UK:
Star Gazing is one of the most romantic activities you and your partner can do together in Spring Summer 2021. Many of the National Trust locations are a great spot for this and the one that we highly recommend is the Emmett’s Gardens in Kent. Take a blanket, some snacks and some drinks and enjoy the array of stars and meteor showers that paint one of the most romantic settings for a date.
Location: Kent – nearest station: Seven Oaks overground station
Price: £
9.) Strawberry picking in a lovely country farm:
A great day date activity with your partner in one of the many beautiful farms up and down the UK countryside is fruit picking. It’s a great day date idea for you and your partner filled with beautiful views, fresh air, exercise, and a built in picnic to enjoy all the organic produce you have both just picked together. We recommend a visit to Crockford Bridge Farm in Weybridge, Surrey.
Location: Surrey – nearest station: Addlestone Overground Station
Price: £
10.) Visit the Beach together:
With the weather set to improve over the next few weeks and the chance of going abroad in the air for a few more months yet, a great idea for a day trip is to one of the many underrated beaches across the UK. We recommend a day date in Camber Sands followed by an early evening stroll in the village of Rye. Both are situated within a two hour train journey from London or even less if you can drive. Take a beach towel, a picnic and some games to enjoy the beach for a few hours.
Location: East Sussex – nearest station:
Price: £
Made My Date 