On your bike - Haldon Forest Park, Devon

Haldon Forest Park is 10 minutes from Exeter and offers a wide range of trails as well as cycle hire, café and many non-cycling activities.  

You can even Go Ape there as they have a high ropes course, complete with zip wire.

From the saddle of a bike you can explore deeper into the forest than you have before, take in amazing views, watch out for wildlife and enjoy safe off-road cycling in a peaceful setting. 

For the more advanced mountain bikers there is the longest, most challenging cycle trail which takes in the thrilling ride on Haldon’s imposing ridge. Not for the faint-hearted, or the inexperienced! 

The skills park and pump track offers the perfect place to develop your riding and try out new techniques. 

All Images (c) 1 South West Cycle Adventure

Many of the trails are perfect for even the youngest cyclist.  So what are you waiting for? Go!

On your bike - Family Cycle Routes - Forest of Dean

Designed with small legs in mind, the cycle trail in the Forest of Dean is perfect for the whole family.  The signposted route follows purpose-built paths and railway lines dotted with plenty of picnic sites to stop at along the way.

It starts in the Cannop Valley from Pedalabikeaway and takes you along the old Severn and Wye railway line passing former stations at Drybrook Road, Cannop Wharf and Speech House. 

Remnants of former coal mines can be seen at Foxes Bridge, Lightmoor and New fancy.  It is mostly level with some short climbs making it suitable for all ages and abilities.

and if you don't have your own bikes, you can rent them from Pedalabikeaway, Dean Forest Cycles or Forest Bikes. 

Distance : 11-mile (18 km) 

Difficulty : Easy

www.forestry.gov.uk/forestofdean

Day trips - All at Sea with Poole Sea Safari

If you fancy a little adventure, what better than a high speed ride on a rib around Dorset's Jurassic Coast?

There are loads of these types of trips on offer but this one from Poole Sea Safari is great value in our opinion.

Where else can you cover 185 million years in 90 minutes?  Whereas a lot of other trips seem to be just about the thrill of the ride, Poole Sea Safari appears to cover more mileage and give you a bit more about what you're seeing too.  

All images (c) Poole Sea Safari

Cruising out of Poole Harbour, you'll pass Brownsea Island and Sandbanks before picking up speed as you fly past Old Harry Rocks and on towards Swanage Bay.

And back on dry land, you'll feel you've earned yourself an ice-cream or bag of chips!

Days Out - Bluebell woods

It may be a little early but this is the time of year when bluebells should be carpeting woods with their ultraviolet colours.

Having lived in Marlborough for several years I was spoilt by the local West Woods and enjoyed many early morning walks, midday picnics and evening strolls amongst these flowers contrasting beautifully with the vibrant green beech leaves.

The Woodland Trust have a great website with suggestions of woods around the country and list their top ten.

Ashridge Estate in Buckingham;         Calke Abbey, Derbyshire;

Garston Woods, Dorset;                    Heartwood Forest, Hertfordshire;

Burroughs Wood, Leicestershire;       The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire;

Hardcastle Crags W Yorkshire;           Glen Finglas, Trossachs National Park;

Coed Cefn, Powys;                          Carnmoney Hill, County Antrim.

And for other suggestions try the National Trust, Woodland Trust or RSPB.

Day trips - 50 things to do outdoors

Climbing trees, building dens and flying kites were all once common childhood pleasures.  And each year the National Trust put together a list of 50 things kids should try before they're 11 and three quarters.  

How many have you done?

Climb a tree

Go fishing

Roll down a hill

Build a den

Fly a kite

Walk in the rain (and jump in puddles!)

Hunt for fossils.

Trivial Pursuits - Nature Photographer of the Year

   

I've always harboured a passion for photography and regret trading in my Pentax K1000 SLR camera for a digital one.  Although I'm sure my new one is capable of everything the film version did, the old one was so straightforward to adjust the shutter speed and F-stop!  

The Society of German Nature Photographers have just published the results of their annual competition, so I thought I would share some of the finalists should you be in need of some inspiration.

All images (c) GDT

Meet the Maker - Kate Lycett, Artist

I love discovering new artists - well new to me that is.  And it's not difficult to see what attracted me to Kate Lycett's work.  The vibrancy of her work is stunning.

Her textile design background is clear from the way she paints.   She see patterns in everything: the hills adorned with houses and washing lines, rows of flower pots and stripes of brightly painted drain pipes. 

Kate works with acrylics, inks and gouache and uses lines of gold thread to trace lines through the landscape and gold leaf to change the surface of my pictures with the changing light of day.

As well as selling her work online, prints and paintings are available at Heart in Hebden Bridge and she sells cards and lanterns at Radiance.

Kate lives in Hebden Bridge with her husband and three small children and she takes inspiration from the warmth, colour and community in which she lives.

All images (c) Kate Lycett

Days Out - Laugharne, Wales

I've managed to sneak a weekend off.  Having explored many parts of Wales, I've never been to Laugharne, home of Dylan Thomas and the village on which he based his poem Under Milkwood, calling the place Llareggub (read it backwards!

The boathouse where he lived for the last four years of his life with wife Caitlin and children is now open during the summer months and has been reinstated to look as it did when he was alive.

A little further along the path is the writing shed where he did his work and again this has been left as it would have looked when he worked there.

And Laugharne itself is pretty too.  You can walk around the foot of one of the many castles in Wales and enjoy the view of the estuary.

 

And if you're going to make a weekend of it, why not try The Cors for dinner.  The old rectory has been transformed into a restaurant, with local specialities such as salt-marsh lamb served in a herb crust on the menu.