Road trip snacks

Babybel or a block of cheddar with oatcakes is properly filling and far less messy than a sandwich. The wax-wrapped cheeses are made for the car.

Individual houmous tubs with breadsticks or carrot batons feel like a treat and create almost no mess. Keep the pots in the cool box on a hot day.

Pretzels and Mini Cheddars hold their shape, don't go everywhere, and scratch the crisp itch without the shattered-crisp carpet.

Pork pies, cocktail sausages and mini scotch eggs are a picnic classic for a reason — substantial, no prep, and best kept cool.

A bag of mixed nuts or trail mix lasts the whole trip, doesn't spoil, and gives slow-release energy for the driver. Go for unsalted if you're watching the salt.

A proper oaty flapjack is the ideal road trip cake: sturdy, filling and slow to release energy. Wrapped cereal bars do the same job with zero crumbs.

Sliced malt loaf and banana bread are moist enough not to shower crumbs everywhere, and they keep for days without refrigeration.

Unlike chocolate, chewy sweets shrug off a warm car. Keep a bag in the door pocket for emergencies and games forfeits.

Dried mango, apricots and raisins satisfy a sweet craving with a bit more goodness. Pair with a few squares of dark chocolate, which holds up better than milk in the heat.

Carrot, cucumber and pepper sticks with a houmous or guacamole pot are refreshing, hydrating and genuinely satisfying to crunch on a long drive.

Apples, satsumas, grapes and bananas need no chopping and create little waste. Grapes in a tub are the easiest fruit to share round the car.

Lightly salted or plain popcorn is low in calories, light on crumbs and bulky enough to feel like a proper snack. Portion it into bags to stop the whole tub going at once.

Dry-roasted chickpeas and lightly salted edamame are protein-rich, moreish and far steadier than crisps for keeping hunger at bay.

Mini boxes of raisins, breadsticks and a wrapped cheese are easy for small hands and low on mess and sugar.

Plain or lightly flavoured rice cakes and child-friendly oat bars fill a gap without a sugar spike — and they don't melt.

Squeezy fruit pouches and easy-peel satsumas are reliable wins, and far tidier than anything that needs biting into over a car seat.

One designated treat per box — a small bag of chewy sweets or a biscuit — heads off the pestering and works brilliantly as a reward for a good stretch of behaviour.

Pots of yoghurt, cheese strings and the houmous and dip tubs all belong in the cool box on a warm day. Pack a few spoons.

Sliced meats, cheese and wraps let everyone build a quick roll-up at a viewpoint stop — more satisfying than crisps and barely any more effort.

Refillable water bottles per person are the single most important thing to pack. Staying hydrated keeps the driver sharp and heads off headaches and grumpiness.

A flask of tea or coffee saves a fortune over motorway services and means a proper hot drink at a lay-by with a view.