Park Bench Etiquette – would you stay or go?

Research reveals Brits in the South West give strangers the cold shoulder on park benches. Conversation-shy Brits in South West England would rather pack up and go if they are joined on a park bench by a stranger, research has revealed.

The fascinating study into our habits has revealed an unsociable streak when it comes to sharing a public space when having lunch or reading a book.

The nation is home to millions of park benches but sitting down unleashes territorial feelings with over a third of Brits in the South West (38%) admitting they would leave within five minutes if someone sat down next to them.

Nearly half (47%) will only sit down on a park bench with someone else on it if they absolutely had to, according to the research commissioned by Kingsmill as part of the Lunch Spots campaign designed to find the UK’s top 10 favourite places to eat lunch.

"We appear to have a distant attitude when choosing a park bench to sit on for either a relaxing half-hour or eating lunch,” said a Kingsmill spokesperson. “The park bench is part of our culture yet it stirs some very powerful emotions.”

“Once we sit down, it seems that bench is ours and anyone who tries to share it can be seen as an invader. That feeling is very strong for some people even if the other person sits at the end of the bench and doesn’t say a word.”

Only 5% of those in the South West would attempt to start a conversation with someone else on a park bench. In fact, nearly half admitted to using the park bench as a time for personal reflection with 49% normally visiting a park bench by themselves rather than friends.

Jon Wilson, Allied Bakeries Marketing Director says “We know that people love to eat their lunch outside, which is why we’ve launched this campaign – we can’t wait to find out the UK’s top 10 Lunch Spots.”

“The top 10 winners will have a park bench placed there to celebrate its achievement, but sadly we can’t guarantee that only one person at a time will be able to sit on it! However we’re sure that that our new park benches situated in these Lunch Spots will hopefully encourage more people to spark up a conversation!”

Visit www.facebook.com/kingsmill between now and 15 April to submit your nomination to be in with a chance of winning £1500 worth of UK holiday vouchers.