united-kingdom england-and-wales covid-19
Are hot drinks legally classed as a picnic in the UK?
<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55560814" rel="noreferrer">two women going for a walk in the UK were told by the police that the hot drinks they brought with them were classed as a picnic</a> (note that going for a picnic is illegal in the current lockdown).</p>
<p>Is this true?</p>
<p>(Was wondering about asking this on Skeptics.SE, but I would like an answer per law, so asking here.)</p>
<p>(For completeness: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55625062" rel="noreferrer">the fines have been withdrawn and the police apologised</a> but my question still stands.)</p>

<p>There is, as far as I can see, no legal definition of <em>picnic</em> in England and Wales.</p>
<p>In the absence of such, the convention applied by the UK courts is to use the normal meaning of the word; usually by reference to the Oxford English Dictionary (which is behind a paywall so I've used its <a href="https://www.lexico.com/definition/picnic" rel="nofollow noreferrer">free online version</a> here)...</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An occasion when a <strong>packed meal is eaten</strong> outdoors, especially during an
outing to the countryside.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(My emphasis)</p>
