Deli Suggestions for Meals in England

In Stow-on-the Wold we found a great little market to buy some picnic stuff. I am sure the other towns have similar places. We also enjoyed stopping for tea a few times in the countryside and making that our lunch. After a full English breakfast, we never seemed to want too much of a lunch. One B&B offered to pack us a lunch for one of our rides and walks in the countryside.

If your B&b offers to make you a lunch, accept their offer.

We put together great lunches at Marks&Spencer department stores. They have lots of ready made sandwiches, crisps, yogurt, fruit, and best of all large bottles of water for less than a pound. They are all over England.

Greetings

There are lots of chains like Greggs, but their food tends to be mediocre at best and very overpriced for the quality.

Your best bet is to go Marks & Spencers, a farmer's market, or a local bakery etc. and buy bread/cheese/meat/toppings for sandwiches. Or as suggested - the yogurts or soups et al. I'm sure you could find chicken - but no point in travelling all the way to England to eat what you could get at home. There's lots of wonderful fresh & local foods available across England (and the rest of the UK)!

kate

Pret a Menger (sp?) great place with good prices

In addition to the great suggestions above...Some corner shops, what we know as convenience stores, have deli counters as well. And the best part is that some even mark down their hot deli items and salads to half price later on in the evening. Watch for wing night specials:)
Woolworth's have deli counters that offer meals to go picnic style that aren't too bad.

But nothing beats a Farmers Market! Try to get as much "live" fresh produce as possible. And don't forget fresh milk and yoghurt if you're not lacto...

I'll second both the Marks & Spencer and Pret a Manger options. We put together picnic meals there that put Harrod's take away food options to shame.

Can you buy beer or wine at Marks & Spencer?

Can you buy beer or wine on Sunday in England,Scotland and Ireland?

TIA

Yes, M&S has beer and wine. Their own brand wines are pretty good. Before the restriction on liquids, I used bring back two bottles every trip -- 4 or so times a year. yummy.

Fish and Chip shops are great and reasonable. plastic utensils and plates are not readily avail as in US so you may want to take what you will need if you wil be using take out alot.

There are plenty of other chains you can try for "fast-food" type delis, including Pret a Manger, Eat, and Leon, which are all quite good, if not a tad bit pricey. There is one particular cafe tucked away in Covent Garden on Wellington Street (I believe) that does half a rotisserie chicken (either with a salad and new potatoes, or in a bap) for only £4.50. Now that, is an unbeatable price!