Dozens of people continued the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations today with a mass picnic in a small market town.

Many enjoyed patchy sunshine at the Ashbourne recreation ground in Derbyshire as they tucked into traditional British fare such as sandwiches, sausage rolls and scotch eggs.

Many said they had enjoyed the celebrations so far and in particular the spectacle of the Thames flotilla yesterday.

Amelia Jensen, 43, a shop worker from Belper, said: “It was great to see the Queen and Kate and William out on their boat and lovely that so many people were out there in such awful weather.

”The Queen did a great job because she was stood for a long time and it must have been cold and tiring for her.

”It was great to see it, I’ll probably never see anything like that again in my lifetime.”

A total of eight miles of bunting has been strung through Ashbourne and the surrounding area and some people at the picnic today wore Union Jack hats and flags draped around them.

Peter Miller, a 31-year-old mechanic from Derby, said the Jubilee had given him more than one reason to celebrate.

”It’s great for the Queen and the Royal Family and for us normal folk it’s just really good to have four days off work,” he said with a smile.

”With the royal wedding last year and this now, I really hope there’s another event next year so we get some more time off.”

Children at the Ashbourne Jubilee picnic enjoyed playing on an inflatable bouncy castle and slide, as well as a small motorised train that took them round the recreation ground.

Some of the older visitors evidently felt happier as they grabbed a spot in the busy bar tent, while others simply enjoyed a break from yesterday’s wet weather and basked in the periods of warm sunshine.