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The Big Track on the way to Attenborough

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Yesterday was a very nice day despite the forecast, and I thought after all those years in Nottingham, me and my daughters had never been to Attenborough Nature Reserve, despite it being so close to the pony club where my younger one goes. Even my husband had not heard about the Big Track, along the Trent! You almost feel like you are in Derbyshire at certain points. Certainly not a couple of miles away from Nottingham City centre. I never knew about that place near Beeston marina. It looks even better in real life! My daughter enjoyed watching the lock open to let a boat sail through At last we reached the visitor centre for a welcome break! We did not have a picnic sadly otherwise we would have stayed longer. This bridge is very familiar as it is where my husband drives to work. It felt good cycling underneath it rather than driving on it (in traffic) In total, it was a nearly 20 mile ride. My longest ever recorded on Strava. I was proud of all the family. I hope my girls are. I thin...
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Westward Ho! 2025

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Last summer when we had our annual trip to Devon, we decided to make use of our roof top bike rack. unfortunately, we could not use much of our bikes. We thought of Northam Burrows Country park , but unfortunately, we can only visit it on foot. As cycling there to Appledore (for crab fishing) was not an option, we decided to go back another day on foot and it was definitely worth the walk and fun for the kids. I was most impressed by the Gray Sands as we approached Appledore! As for our animal loving younger daughter, there was a lot to see. On our last but one day, as the weather was not the greatest, we chose to go for a hike just at the top of the village. The views were great although it was recommended to be there at low tide, but that day, it was not quite possible for us, we were still impressed! We were so close to a helicopter taking off, we had to stop and watch, despite the noise! We obviously went to the beach loads of times, as we had a mostly sunny week. We even stayed tw...
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Location: Westward Ho! EX39, UK
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Monsal Trail: along with the grandma

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I know it has been a while but here was my last family bike ride in Derbyshire, at a very popular location, near Bakewell, called Monsal Trail. Much like Tissington Trail, it is an old trainline; which means the terrain is mostly flat. It is just about 8 mile (13 km) long in total, though I only cycled half of it as French grandma was with us and she struggled to see inside dark tunnels. You will also cross a few high viaducts. As I said, it is a popular one so it gets very busy during bank holiday week-ends especially if the weather is pleasant. It is possible to hire a bike, as long as you can provide some form of ID. Possibility to have some food/drink at the point nearest Bakewell.  Now that summer is fast approaching, I am very much hoping to try the Manifold Trail, in Staffordshire, and the High Peak Trail, near the Tissington Trail. Hopefully, my teenager will not need too much persuasion.  
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Location: Bakewell DE45, UK
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Cantine vs panier repas: ma décision est prise

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 Bonjour à tous,  Cette fois-ci, je change de sujet pour parler d’alimentation, et non d’aventure en extérieur, plus précisément du déjeuner à l’école. Si vous vivez en Angleterre, vous n’êtes sûrement pas sans savoir qu’une chose qui n’est pas envisageable pour un enfant scolarisé est de rentrer à la maison le midi, comme le font certains élèves en France et surtout en Suisse. Beaucoup d’entre nous avons de plus ou moins bons souvenirs de la cantine, mais une chose qui ne se faisait pas du tout à mon époque était d’emporter un panier repas (ou une gamelle).  En France comme en Angleterre, la nourriture de la cantine ne plait pas à tous et hélas, trop de nourriture part à la poubelle, le ventre des enfants restant vide quand bien même leurs parents payent. Je ne m’étalerai pas sur la nourriture des cantines françaises, étant donné que mes enfants ne la connaissent pas, mais ma fille aînée ayant côtoyé la cantine anglaise pendant près de dix ans, et après avoir vu quelques...
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Gibraltar Point to Skegness

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  Comme nous vivons à Nottingham, si l’on veut profiter d’une journée chaude pour aller à la plage, la plus proche est Skegness! Cette station balnéaire parfois surnommée « le Blackpool de la Côte Est » a plutôt mauvaise réputation, possiblement dû au fait qu’elle est plutôt fréquentée par la classe ouvrière. Néanmoins, de nombreuses familles y font comme nous, l’aller retour dans la journée, peu importe le milieu. Ceux qui connaissent Blackpool ne seront pas dépaysés, notamment en voyant les manèges et les casinos. Quand j’ai rencontré mon mari britannique en 2006, je crois que c’était l’une de nos premières escapades ensemble. Nous y sommes retournés de nombreuses fois depuis. Une chose que j’ai un peu honte d’avouer est qu’à l’époque, j’étais à mille lieues de penser voir des gens se baigner là bas. Dans la mer du Nord! L’eau ne doit pas dépasser les 15 degrés en été ! Et puis en Angleterre, la mer devait être toujours grise! Petite, j’avais beau habiter Paris, je ne s...
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Rutland Water: one of my favourite places to go

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 Now that Saturday French school is off for summer, and with last Saturday proving a scorching hot day, I suggested we went to Rutland Water, partly for the beach, but also partly for a lovely bike ride as a family. We parked near the beach (Sykes lane), which was convenient as it meant we did not have to carry our packed lunches in our backpacks, but it also meant we could not go all around the peninsula as I would have liked as we were out of time. As it was hot, it was not ideal to continue pedalling past midday. Maintenant que mes filles n'ont plus école française le samedi matin pour le reste de l'été et que la météo de samedi dernier s'annonçait très ensoleillée, j'ai suggéré d'emmener la famille faire encore une balade à vélo à Rutland water, où se trouve également une plage! Nous nous sommes garés près de la plage (Sykes Lane), ce qui nous a permis de laisser nos paniers repas dans le coffre de la voiture. Néanmoins, sa position éloignée de la péninsule du ...
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