Is this the world's longest picnic table ... made of straw?

The wacky bid to enter the Guinness World Recordbook is being made behind a croquet lawn at Wakehurst, the country arm of Kew Gardens, at Ardingly, near Haywards Heath.

Around 150 bales of straw from a nearby farm have been used in the construction of what is hoped to be a record-breaking picnic table well over 100 metres in length.

The table consists of a mixture of large round bales, acting as parasol holders and square bales as well as smaller bales which are the ‘seats’.

The record is being attempted by visitors to the new Wild Food Festival at Wakehurst who will be able to buy a range of foods before sitting down to enjoy their picnics on the straw-bale picnic table.

The table will remain throughout the summer for al fresco dining and meetings with friends.

Officials say the aim of the picnic table is to ‘re-connect people with the landscape and with each other, to revitalise health and well-being and to encourage people to picnic in the countryside.’

Wakehurst is one of the most beautiful and significant botanic gardens in the country.

It is home to Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, which houses and protects seed from the world’s most substantial and diverse collection of threatened and useful wild plants.

The Wild Food Festival is at Wakehurst on July 2 and 3.

To find out more visit http://www.kew.org/visit-wakehurst/whats- on/wild-food- festival