Visit Copenhagen in winter for a wonderful place to get ideas for your Christmas crafting. Denmark is ahead of the game on the Christmas market front. Before you get loaded up on glogg…
The Fabulous IKF – Indigo Kelly-Forest
It takes a very brave woman to take a group of (potentially difficult) women who are new to cycling on a bicycle tour in another country! It is thanks to just such a wonderful woman that I expanded my horizons and went cycle touring in France
Lyme Park – Fresh Air and Freedom
As Lyme Park is located on the edge of both the Peak District and the Cheshire Plain it has commanding 360 degree views
Slow Sunday at Chatsworth
Parking at Edensor (pronounced En-saw for some reason) is something of a tradition for us when visiting the Chatsworth estate (not the Shameless one). A short walk over the hillside delivers the best view of the big house over the bridge. The cleaned and gilded facades probably look better now than they have at any…
Testing out the Tent in the Garden
Of course, to be a true slow cyclist you don’t have to go very far! Before going away to France I put my tent up in my friend’s garden. The food and wine was so good I got head-spin and did not get much sleep. This is why I rarely drink on holiday – I…
London to Paris on the Avenue Verte
Leaving London… As much as I had been dreading city riding I must admit that I loved the thrill of it. My feeling of safety was enhanced by three things: 1) being on a cycle route 2) being in a group 3) being visible (lovely fluoro!)
Food and “the French way” to Slow Cycle
Not for me stopping in lycra to stuff (whilst standing or leaning against the shop front) a delicate French fancy, croissant or baguette. This is not the French way! NON! Not to say that I haven’t been guilty of this but I’d rather stop, order a coffee and unwrap something delicious to savour and devour…
Slow Cycle – Lessons and Experience
Nothing makes you feel younger than riding your bike along a shaded canal or through golden fields filled with sunflowers. Cycling traffic-free (in any country) is not like cycling in your local town. Once you get your balance the pace is up to you. Just keep moving forwards at a pace which you feel comfortable…
Why I am a Brand Storyteller and not a Writer
Identity and self-identity can be a slippery subject. After 20 years working as an English Teacher I’m really excited about giving myself a chance to do something that I’ve always wanted to do. Essentially that means that I want to write. That would make me “a writer”. You are what you do, right? What…
Airy and Amazing Arnside – Beside the Seaside, The Lakes and Morecambe Bay
This one is for my fabulous Aunt Stella: a woman who has adventured through Africa, India and Malaysia and many other places. I can see that you have been reading my blog! Thank you. I decided to write about Arnside, where Stella now lives, as the light there is so clear and bright it makes…
On Work Related Stress – Teachers Can Knit Fog and Plait Sawdust (Until they can’t)
In colloquial British English “knitting fog”, is used to describe something which you are trying to do but which proves to be impossible or nigh on impossible. Despite this I know some amazing individuals, particularly teachers or ex-teachers, who can indeed “knit fog” as they can create meaning, structure and material from mere strands. Teaching…
Salsa in Sheffield
There is a thriving salsa scene. This blog just gets more random every day!
Curious About Calke – A Day Out at Calke Abbey near Derby
Calke is not a place for the faint-hearted surrounded as it is by death, beady eyes, horns and feathers. There are also a few sad echoes of the last throes of human life in this somewhat dark and cavernous place. Impossibly large to make a home, the most recent inhabitants retreated to small apartments within the whole.
Copenhagen – Swimming in the North Sea
You can’t really beat a day at the beach on a bright sunny day. Just north of Copenhagen there are some really cool spots like Bellevue beach at Klampenborg and it is safe too as you only get waist deep. This is mostly a place known to locals and it was great to see dads…
Update – Up and Rolling Again with Indi
Great news. Indi has decided to re-instate the tried and tested route across France from Bordeaux to Narbonne for next summer 2019. The Fabulous IKF (Indigo Kelly-Forest) France Coast to Coast – Le Canal des 2 Mers a Velo from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean (Bordeaux to Carcassonne)
Robin Hood and Little John at Creswell Crags (Gorge-ous Circular walk with children)
Cycling in Paris was the best day ever! Drivers know that you are there and expect cyclists (giving you more passing room) and this makes all the difference. We headed to the Arc de Triumpe, Notre Dame for a coffee then the Eiffel Tower for photos.
Slow stroll around the Pleasure Gardens at Stowe with The National Trust
The concept of the Pleasure Garden at Stowe is landscape gardening on a grand scale. Team members from Clumber Park, led by Pleasure Grounds Gardener Jack Pitt, headed down to Buckinghamshire on a glorious autumnal day to learn and gather inspiration.
Autumn Colours at Clumber Park
What a difference a few weeks makes! The pictures below were taken three weeks apart, from the East Entrance (with mature trees). The double lime tree avenue at Clumber Park is the largest lime tree avenue in Europe with some 1296 trees. Planted around 165 years ago most of the trees are still going…
The Glass House and Walled Kitchen Gardens at Clumber Park this Autumn
As temperatures start to drop outside one of the most pleasant spots for visitors to explore at Clumber Park is the glasshouse in the Walled Kitchen Garden. At the moment it is just gourd-geus with superb displays in every shade of orange, white and green imaginable. They differ in shape and size too with…
