Five Rainy Day Dates For Lockdown Life

When the weather is sunny and warm, the air is balmy and the countryside and your gardens are bursting with new life, finding the joy in every day and sharing that with your muddy match can feel really easy. But what happens when the good weather breaks and you need to find a way to date, indoors? Our usual favourite rainy day date ideas are off limits, so we’ve put together your essential countryside dating guide to socially distanced dating with a rural twist. Get prepared, get your countryside love on board and get dating!

Mystic moon cookies

We’re taking the dinner date cook-a-long to a new level with our phases of the moon bake-a-long. With less light pollution and quieter skies, you may be noticing the phases of the moon much more clearly than before lockdown, so why not take this opportunity to guide your country-loving date through this cookie cook-a-long.Find your favourite shortbread recipe (we love this easy recipe here), then bake together over video link – Zoom, Facetime, Facebook Video Call and WhatsApp Video all work well. Have a chat and a drink whilst the cookies cool then start icing to recreate the phases of the moon in cookies. From a fully iced full moon to waning gibbous, waning half to waning crescent, an icing free new moon to waxing crescent and waxing half then finally, a waxing gibbous, you’ll have fun together and get something tasty to eat afterwards.

Build a bee hotel together (but apart)

Staying at home is already doing something positive for the COVID-19 crisis, so extend the goodwill and do something fantastic for the bees too. All you need is to set up a video link with your countryside match, gather your raw materials together (you’ll need a selection of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, feathers, dead hollow stems from garden plants, bamboo canes, a clean, empty 2 litre plastic bottle, paper straws and string) and get designing and building together. More instructions here.

Explore the countryside together on one of our 360 Virtual Dates

Rainy days and rainy evenings may mean your usual al fresco chats move indoors, so why not make the most of this opportunity to do something completely different? We’ve been regularly uploading 360 virtual date videos so that you and your country love can log on and adventure together. Sun or rain, you’re guaranteed to find romance with once of these.

Enjoy the Chelsea Flower Show together from home

In recent news, we’ve heard that the annual Chelsea Flower Show, due to be held in late May 2020, has been cancelled. Whether you enjoy it in person or just on TV, you’ll be delighted to hear that the Show is moving online, hosting garden tours with talented garden designers, florists and famous gardening personality. So, for a great rainy day date idea, call up your countryside date and enjoy experiencing these beautiful gardens together. If you want to get more hands on, you could simultaneously take part in a virtual floristry session or potting bench demonstration, also hosted by the RHS.

Prepare for your next real-life adventure

Many of us, the Muddy Matches team included, take great care of our cars, bikes and fitness equipment, but when did you last show your outdoor hiking gear some TLC? Hiking boots, waterproofs and camping equipment need regular attention to keep them in tip top condition, so for our next rainy day date idea, we suggest you turn these tedious chores into something more fun by cleaning up your gear whilst chatting to your rural match. As you chat, start to gather ideas together about where your next real-life date will take place, so you’ve got something amazing to look forward to once lockdown has been lifted.