Hello,
June always feels like the month when food starts loosening its collar a little.
The heavy coats are gone, the good fruit is beginning to arrive, and suddenly dinner can be something eaten with the back door open, or wrapped up and carried outside for a walk, a picnic, or a slightly over-ambitious “we’ll just find somewhere scenic” family outing.
This month on Culinary Travels, I’ve been thinking about that lovely in-between feeling: not quite high summer yet, but bright enough for crumble-topped fruit bakes, day trips, staycations, and the sort of food that travels well in a tin, a basket, or a slightly chaotic cool bag.
If June needs a bake, I think it might be this Italian Peach Sbriciolata.
It is golden, crumbly, soft in the middle, and just the sort of thing that tastes like it belongs with a cup of coffee in the garden. The recipe uses fresh or tinned peaches, which makes it wonderfully easy and very much a storecupboard-friendly bake, but it still has that sunny, fruit-stained feeling of something far more seasonal.
It is not fussy. It does not ask you to make perfect pastry. It simply gives you buttery crumbs, soft peach filling, and a very strong reason to cut a slice before immediately considering “just another small bit”.
My peach sbriciolata recipe is here if you fancy a golden, crumbly bake that brings a little sunshine to the kitchen, even if the weather is doing its usual June nonsense.
I am never entirely sure whether picnics are serene, romantic things or elaborate tests of human patience.
There is always the question of what will survive the journey, whether the blanket is waterproof enough, and how many napkins are too many napkins. But when it works, it really works. A good sandwich, something sweet in a tin, fruit that can be eaten without ceremony, and a flask of tea or bottle of something cold is often enough.
June feels made for those smaller adventures. A family walk in the Peak District, a breezy wander in the North York Moors, a slow afternoon in a local park, or a train ride somewhere with a view. Food does not have to be elaborate to make a day feel memorable. Sometimes it just has to be packed before everyone gets hungry and slightly cross.
Staycations are very much still part of the travel conversation. According to VisitBritain’s latest domestic sentiment research, 77% of UK adults intended to take a domestic overnight trip over the next 12 months in May 2026.
That is a lot of people looking closer to home, and honestly, I love seeing more attention on the parts of the UK that are rich in landscape, history, food, and character without always shouting the loudest.
My North East England guide is here if you’re thinking about a UK escape with coastlines, castles, market towns, Roman history and plenty of independent food stops along the way. The Whitby image feels like a lovely reminder of why this part of the country is so special: abbey ruins, harbour views, sea air, old streets, and that slightly dramatic edge northern coastal towns do so well. From there, the wider region opens out beautifully, from Durham and Newcastle to Northumberland’s beaches and countryside.
Wimbledon fortnight is nearly here too, with The Championships running from 29 June to 12 July this year.
I’ve been gently building the Wimbledon cluster on Culinary Travels, and while the tennis is obviously the headline act, food and drink matter enormously too. Whether you are heading to the Championships, meeting friends nearby, or just using the season as an excuse for strawberries, Pimm’s, and a good lunch, Wimbledon is one of those areas where a little planning really helps.
My Wimbledon food and drink guide is here if you’re heading to the Championships, meeting friends nearby, or simply want somewhere good to eat before the tennis crowds descend.
You might also find these useful if you are planning a visit: A Local’s Guide to Wimbledon, Getting to Wimbledon, and Where to Stay in Wimbledon.
I also wanted to briefly mention Spain My Way by José Andrés, because I’ve been reading and cooking from it, and it feels especially timely after all the recent Murcia work on Culinary Travels.
It is the kind of cookbook I love most: not just recipes, but place, memory, habit, appetite, and culture on the page. Spanish food is so often at its best when it feels generous and grounded, and this has been a lovely one to dip into after writing so much about tapas, rice dishes, markets, wine, and regional food traditions.
My review of Spain My Way by José Andrés is now live on Culinary Travels, and it has been one of those cookbooks that keeps pulling me back to the kitchen, the market, and the idea of sitting at a Spanish table for several hours longer than planned.
For a June thriller fix, I highly recommend Such a Nice Girl by Andrea Mara, which is exactly the kind of slick, tense, “sure just one more chapter” book that leads to terrible bedtime decisions.
It opens the morning after a glamorous Foxrock wedding, when two best friends discover their teenage daughters have vanished from the pool house. There’s blood on the carpet, a smashed lamp, a phone left behind, and a Garda call from the night before where one girl says the other is trying to kill her. The trouble is, nobody knows which girl made the call.
Andrea Mara is brilliant at taking polished surfaces, beautiful homes, old friendships, nice families, and quietly letting the cracks show. This one has glamour, class tension, messy female friendship, family secrets, and that delicious stomach-drop question of what happens when you have to wonder whether your nice girl is quite so nice after all.
My full review is over on Instagram, but consider this your nudge if you like a thriller that goes down far too easily on a bright evening.
I hope June brings you something good to eat outside, somewhere lovely to walk, and at least one recipe or destination that makes the month feel a little brighter.
As always, thank you for reading Culinary Travels and following along. It means a great deal.
Warmly,
Georgina
P.S. If you have a favourite picnic bake, UK summer escape, or Wimbledon food stop, I’d love to hear it. Reader recommendations often end up shaping future Culinary Travels pieces, so do drop me an email or leave a comment on socials.
