The film followed the extended family of "The General", played by Barker, as they went on an eventful picnic in the Devon countryside. The film is notable for being completely free of speech, with the score by Ronnie Hazlehurst and various sound effects in their place. The humour is instead entirely visual, and relies on comic stereotypes (the old randy general, the busty girl, etc.) It had a sequel, By the Sea, featuring some of the same characters made in 1982.