Wooden picnic bench looking worse for wear

biko

I got a nice outdoor picnic bench (one of those with a table and a bench on each side) in spring and slapped on a few coats of varnish but now at the end of the summer it's starting to look pretty bad.
I will go over it with soapy water and a brush but is there a way to keep it nice?
Maybe some clearcoat or similar to add a protective layer on top surfaces?

red sean

I put clear yacht varnish on mine about 5 years ago. Still looks like new but it's taken indoors for the winter.

Boiled-egg

Consider sanding it back and using a 50/50 mix of turps and BOILED linseed oil. One word of warning, make sure its boiled linseed or else it will stain your clothes every time you sit on it. I use it on my lake boat and I find it excellent.

ted1

I've giving up on varnish and find coloured Ronseal great. Lovely blueberry, cherry blossom, elderflower colours in the range totally changes the look and feel of wooden furniture

biko

Sound, I'll take a google and find out about the solutions.
Will probably go with something clear as I like the natural wood look of the bench.