Durdle Door in Dorset, the setting for the winning date. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA
Last month, Guardian Soulmates launched a search for the perfect date. We were inundated with interesting, inventive and, above all, romantic ideas for dream dates. Our panel of judges deliberated long and hard over your suggestions, laughing, swooning (and occasionally cringing).
Eventually we were won over by an unashamedly romantic date at the seaside. We will be making into a reality for the lucky Romeo or Juliet who wrote it, up to the value of £500. But our eyes were also caught by the surreal - intergalactic alien warfare, pogo sticks - and the creative, including a recreation of a dawning love affair in the 1920s.
So, here is the winning date and the 20 runners-up. Did we pick the right winner? Can you dream up an even better date? Or maybe you're lucky enough to already have been on the date of your dreams. Share your dating anecdotes and ideas in the comments section below.
Oh, and if you really can't stomach our love-in, go on - share your disastrous dating experiences as well.
The winner
Drive down to Dorset in an open-topped vintage sports car to spend an afternoon sea kayaking at Lulworth Cove on the Jurassic coast. A champagne barbecue on the beach at Durdle Door, with freshly caught fish and scallops. An evening spent around a fire there, snuggled up in cashmere blankets, listening to old records on a gramophone, and maybe a starlit dance or two. If all goes well, camp out on the beach and watch the sun rise, waking up to the smell of fresh coffee and a bacon butty!
The runners-up, in no particular order
Queen of hearts
An Alice in Wonderland-inspired dream date set in a dreamy English location on a beautiful summer's day. As an icebreaker, a meeting over lots of exciting 'eat me' and 'drink me' dishes. Then chasing a white rabbit through the countryside to a mad hatter's tea party (and maybe just a few bunny cuddles). Finally, a leisurely trip down the river, rounded off with a spot of croquet and a game of cards.
Alien adventure
With an alien, fighting intergalactic aliens. What could be more exciting? Afterward we have a cup of intergalactic tea and eat intergalactic cake decorated with earth butter icing (can't be having that intergalactic stuff they call icing). He can take me for a spin round the solar system and give me a teleportation device which doubles up as a time machine and waffle-maker - handy because I like waffles. He drops me home and asks can he call tomorrow. He texts before I sleep to say he had a nice day, and lo and behold the next day he rings!
Viennese waltz
I'd like to recreate the date that my Austrian grandmother, a Viennese milliner, went on with my Yorkshire grandfather, a golf professional at the Vienna Golf Club in 1927. It was to the Sacher restaurant near to the Vienna Opera House (my grandmother swore she heard Caruso rehearsing) some time between Christmas and new year. Afterwards they went to the Prater amusement park and rode on the Riesenrad (the ferris wheel) and then had hot chocolate overlooking the Danube as it started to snow. It certainly must have been a romantic evening for them, as they became engaged shortly afterwards and were married in 1929.
Caped crusade
We meet at a little out-of-the-way place that serves great Inuit cuisine, straight from a circular hole cut into the ice. Drinks are Mexican and about to be outlawed on health grounds, but for tonight they flow freely. As promised I have worn a Batman suit and you are on a pogo stick, covered in Christmas lights. We talk at length about the pitfalls of internet dating; the seemingly endless stream of certifiable people who send you insane, gibbering messages. I am glad you don't have Tourette's, and you are relieved that I was fibbing about taking an alligator with me wherever I went. We laugh as we both know this date won't win the prize, but this is our hill, and these are OUR beans!
Whole plot of love
Meeting the light of my life at the allotment on a warm summer's evening. Then sitting back with a cold beer in a deckchair, watching her dig up the potatoes and other assorted root veg, and listening to her moan about her bad back as the sun goes down.
By the book
First we would go to a bookstore and buy Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Second, find and buy really good food (and drinks). Third, go to a forest. Finally, eat, drink and take turns reading the book aloud to each other (voices are a MUST). Hopefully exchange awkward puberty moments of our own.
Thames link
The best romance is found in contrasts, so the ideal setting is an old industrial location on the Thames ... or even better, in the middle of the Thames on an abandoned container boats. We'd borrow my second cousin's dinghy and load it with blankets, cushions, candles, a picnic basket, a crazy selection of spirits, ice, and my 1920s cocktail shaker. We'd cruise down the Thames at dusk like that guy from Heart of Darkness, hitch up to an old wrecked barge and let all the elements come together amid the rusted steel.
Greek triumph
A Greek meal on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, including music, candles and obligatory plates to smash. Also, quite a lot of ouzo to calm the nerves. Then an evening at a karaoke bar, followed by a dawn breakfast in a hot air balloon. Lovely!
Cornish - not corny
A clifftop amble around St Ives, a first kiss in a cove overlooking the sea, then a picnic of cornish pasties in a field full of wildflowers. Afterwards, we drink champagne on the beach in the late afternoon sun and have a sandcastle competition (mine wins by a mile). In the evening we dress up, eat lobster in a dark, slightly shabby restaurant with bumbling waiters, and laugh so much that my mascara runs. A cocktail, a longer kiss, and a slow dance to live music end my perfect date.
Date movie
Towards romance in four easy steps:
Step 1: Find out her favourite ever film
Step 2: Make some of the snacks she really likes
Step 3: Hire this lovely bunch of film fans
Step 4: Get them to come round to your place to show the movie. Add vino or intervals if preferred!
Running wild
Outdoors under stars, wild camping near Holkham Beach, Norfolk. Hiking up a ridge with a picnic, a bottle of wine, the dog and someone easy on the eye. Being open and honest, sharing in the darkness, lighting a fire to keep warm as night draws in. Paddling by moonlight. Simple pleasures. More likely scenario: intoxicated after two glasses of wine (very cheap date), spill horrible details of misfortunes to date, lose way in dunes, culminating in collapse in shallows with dog licking body to resuscitate. Competent wilderness leader sought!
Molecular chemistry
Does the perfect date exist? Who knows, but one should be able to blend the perfect ingredients to get the best flavour out of two total strangers. First there is the shared thrill: anticipation, adrenalin, a natural high, and a buzz that lasts for hours if you get it right. Instead of a rickety rollercoaster or drive-in horror show, I propose some high-altitude terror with a bout of skydiving followed by an equally challenging assault on the senses at Heston Blumenthal´s high temple to subatomic gastronomy. After that, if there's no chemistry you can just blame the molecules ...
Highland fling
£500 for the perfect date? Leave Edinburgh for five-hour "getting to know you" drive to Skye, picking up a bottle of Bombay and a couple of tonics plus camping provisions en route (£40.) Stop off at pub for a meal (£30) and watch the sunset over Glencoe. Wild camp in Skye in newly purchased two-man tent (£300). Awake for the sunrise and porridge and spend the day walking in the Cuillins before heading to the world-famous Three Chimneys restaurant for dinner (£130). Depending on how well it goes, look forward to or dread the five-hour drive back!
Vintage romance
Being picked up in a vintage Jag by a man in a sharp 50s suit. He'd escort me to the car and open the door - old-fashioned chivalry! I'd be wearing a full-skirted dress topped off with a fabulous hat and accessorised by gloves and seamed stockings. Off to Goodwood Revival for the day to be thrilled by fabulous race cars of the 50s, awed by the roar of Spitfires overhead, and smooched with to the sounds of big band swing ... and champagne! Back to London: retro cocktails at Skylon and a Cary Grant film at the BFI. Perfection!
To the lighthouse
At dusk, approach a lighthouse by boat. A glass of champagne on the rocks, with a canapé or a fresh oyster with lemon juice and Tabasco. A table for two at the top of the lighthouse. A view of the ocean and the moon. The meal, bottle of wine, music. After supper, a stroll to a buzzy pub for coffee and whisky.
Berlin calling
Berlin is the backdrop for my perfect date. It goes a little something like this: Schlossgarten Charlottenburg for a stroll in the pretty gardens, then Cinema Café to take the weight off, soak up the cosy coolness and chat music, movies and more … Back on our feet to check out the street art around Kreuzberg, then Weinerei bar for wine and refills. Dinner at White Trash Fast Food with live bands to chew along to, then TV Tower for sundown and a view of Alexanderplatz. We'd finish up at Clarchens Ballhaus for the Broken Hearts club night, and stumble home with a boozy glow and maybe a twinkle in the eye …
Simple pleasures
Take the seaplane from the River Clyde to Tobermory. A simple but perfect date: fish and chips (from the award winning 'Chip Van') with the west coast scenery as our backdrop. We'll walk it off in the fantastic hills and along the shore, making time to sample a few at the distillery. We'll take a boat trip and hope to catch sight of dolphins, whales, sharks and otters, and take photos of the colourful harbour before jumping in the boat to take us to the seaplane and home.
Low-carbon love
The ideal date should have lots of magic, some history and few carbon emissions, so ... Glastonbury on the tower of the tor, having a sunset supper with delicious local, organic food. I'd get there from London by train, with a whole first class carriage to myself. My date would be waiting at Glastonbury station with a bicycle made for two. The bike would have a big basket full of plenty of fresh, local lavender.
Sun and surf
Pulling on a wetsuit at daybreak in Croyde and jogging down to the water's edge, clutching a surfboard. A morning of companionably gossiping out on the water, interspersed with catching waves together. Then, when hunger pangs get too much, heading back to shore to dry off. Over much-needed coffee and brunch, there'd be discussion of surfing with bravado, ego-deflation and laughter. The rest of the day would lie ahead, promising to be filled with a relaxed mix of lolling on the beach collecting freckles and walking along the coastline. But the morning would already have been magical ...
High life
A climbing lesson, working harnessed together as a pair. This would be a good way to see how you can work as a team and if the other is trustworthy, strong and supportive. Then a romantic helicopter ride over and across London, stopping off on a rooftop terrace for a spot of lunch and champagne. Sounds an ideal, exciting and romantic adventure!
