Adventure Walks for Families Blog

Nine go wild on a Norwegian fjord

2012-02-20T14:48:00.002-08:00

Looking around for a different kind of holiday, we alighted upon the idea of heading North for some winter snow and were delighted to discover that the south fjords of Norway are all geared up for families like ours looking for something else. We stumbled across a place called Risor Village on the internet. They offered activities such as ice fishing, boat trips, skiing - cross country as well as downhill and dog sledding. We decided to do the lot.

Our first day was spent on a rugged Norwegian fishing boat chugging round the beautiful islands along the coast from the white painted village of Risor (once visited by the eighteenth century writer Mary Wollstonecraft in pursuit of a sea captain and lost treasure). Everyone was given a rod and we fished off the side of the boat, reeling in startlingly large cod, coal fish and pollock.

Lunch was a huge and delicious fish soup cooked on board made partly from the fresh fish we had caught ourselves. To keep the boat steady we moored at the tiny and picturesque island of Lyngor which is peppered with pale painted wooden holiday homes, unspoilt by cars and has just one bar. Then it was back out to sea where the afternoon catch was even better. So many fish being caught that we ended up throwing them back. There is only so much fish soup a party of nine can eat! At the end of the day, as we headed back to Risor, the low winter sun was glinting on the icy sea and we spotted a whale rising out of the water in the distance. The captain about turned and we pursued it at a safe distance for a while, holding our breath.

The next day, we were off into the mountains an hour or so away for a day's cross country skiing, something that none of us had ever done before. It was such a different experience from downhill skiing. The boots are comfy, the skis are light and by the end of the day we could all more or less whizz our selves around without too many tumbles. It was much less hard work than we thought it would be and was a great deal of fun. In fact it could be the way to go for our families as we got very excited about the fact that you can cross Norway on skis, staying at lodges on the way....something for another holiday.

Day three was ice fishing and dog sledding on a frozen fjord a short walk away from our house (which, by the way, was a very clean and simple, Ikea furnished, warm and comfortable place to be). Our guide, Andy, had rigged up a camp complete with open fire, hot dogs and marshmallows. Some of us ice fished while others bum boarded, abseiled down a steep snowy hill side or walked out on the frozen fjord, a very strange feeling. We were the only people on the ice, the sun shone and the world was silent. Andy showed the boys how to use the large screw (technically an auger) to drill a hole through the ice and we were away. By the end of the day we had caught half a dozen fish, mostly huge great cod. Dinner sorted again. As we fished, Otto arrived with his five beautiful huskies and sled and took us all, one by one, across the snow covered ice and round the frozen islands. Dr Zhivago eat your heart out.

We had had three completely perfect days. Everyone had caught a fish. Everyone had done something new. Freddie, age 9, now thinks that Norway is the most amazing place in the world because you never do the same thing twice (unlike most of our holidays we now realise!) Day four, we boldly set off on a walk of our own, heading off via the frozen fjord to the far side of Risor. Following a rather basic map, we got a bit lost in the snowy woods, just like Narnia, but eventually joined up with a good path, climbed up to the highest point for a view across the fjords to the open sea. Beautiful. And we were the only ones there. It was a magical moment. The children had a fine time tobogganing home, seeking out slippy paths, the slippier the better for them. Day Five was spent downhill skiing for the thrill seekers. No queues, no English tourists (apart from us) and a cheap lift pass for the day. All the equipment is available to hire on site. The rest of the group had a joyous, 12km cross country ski though a pine forested valley and up to a frozen lake in the hills.

Reinvigorated by hot chocolate and dime bars, we were taken to a Norweigan piano bar run by the lovely Rita. It was a charming place, painted in Scandanavian greys and whites. We sat by a warm log fire and were served a delicious feast of traditional Norwegain food: cured meats, moose soup, an elk burger, Norwegian scrambled eggs, potato salad, fine wine....but all at an extraordinarily high price.
It was the first time we really noticed the famed expense of Norway. Self catering you won't feel it's too different. Only the alcohol is priced out of reach. Do what the locals do and buy it at the Duty Free when you land in Oslo (Torp) Airport.

We stayed in a lodge at Risor Holiday Village and flew (Ryan Air) to Oslo (Torp) Airport.

Chicago, Chicago you're my kind of town..

2012-02-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

Well it's the 1st February and the clock is ticking closer to the launch date of our new book, The Bumper Book of London, and we are bowled over to discover that we have a cracking review in the Chicago Tribune all the way across the pond. So exciting. Let's hope their readers can buy the book as it is not in the shops till early April!

Here it is to delight you all

"The Bumper Book of London: Everything You Need to Know about London and More …"
Frances Lincoln, $19.95
The statistics in this fun and fascinating book are often mind-boggling: 1 billion people travel on the London Underground every year; 25 million visitors arrive here annually; 13 million people attend theater in London yearly. The city has 4,500 pubs, 17,000 black cabs, 300 languages, 30 rivers and canals and 40 theaters in the West End. There are sections on Roman London, Saxon and Viking London, Tudor and Elizabethan London, Stuart London, Georgian and Regency London, Victorian London and Edwardian and 20th-century London as well as chapters on Royal London and the River Thames.
There are anecdotes about the origins of the bowler hat, the history of Big Ben and the stories behind London street names. All in all, the book is a treat.
ctc-travel@tribune.com

An unbirthday birthday for Lewis Carroll

2012-01-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

Today, the 27th January, is the 180th birthday of the great mathematician and writer Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll.

As a tutor at Christ College Oxford, Carroll befriended the daughters of the Dean, Henry Liddell, and made up stories to entertain them. These grew into the now famous and cult book, Alice in Wonderland.

For those who don't already know: The story is of a little girl who falls asleep by the riverbank and disappears into a fantastical world. She falls down a rabbit hole to a place peppered with extraordinary animals: the White Rabbit, the Dodo, the Mock Turtle, the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Queen of Hearts. Brimming with strange creatures, nonsense games without rules, rhymes and songs, logic and illogic, death, madness, drugs and dreams.

Why not celebrate with a walk along the Thames at Godstow, where Carroll and Alice used to row up stream to picnic on the riverbank and tell stories. Take a rug and make up silly rhymes, run Caucus races, look for rabbit holes, collect swan feathers, feed the ducks and geese, spot herons and the occasional kingfisher and watch boats floating serenely up and down the river.

For details of our Alice in Wonderland walk that takes you to all the key Alice places, a couple of excellent pubs, the nice tea shops, the shop where Alice used to buy her barley sugars and where to hire a boat, turn to Chapter 18 of Adventure Walks for Families, In and Around London, by Becky Jones and Clare Lewis. To buy a copy, click here.

Marmalade Cake

2012-01-26T01:37:00.000-08:00

If, like me you got carried away and made too much marmalade or still have lots left from last year why not make a marmalade cake.

A friend of mine picked up a flyer from Waterstones Bookshop for me with a recipe from The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake. It is very easy, literally a sponge cake with three generous dollops of marmalade in it.

The recipe recommended a topping of warmed marmalade spread over the cake, covered with an icing sugar and water frosting. But as my children preferred the sound of the orange flower water version from a Nigel Slater sticky marmalade recipe, I did that one instead.

The cake was absolutely delicious - even the children who HATE marmalade were holding plates out for a second slice. Next time I would like to try the Nigel Slater cake to go with the frosting......

List of ingredients: 175g butter, caster sugar, and self-raising flour, 3 large free range eggs, baking powder, 3 tablespoons of Seville orange marmalade, 2 tablespoons of milk. Bake at 180C/350F/gas 4) for 50 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Bitter sweet January

2012-01-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

For a fleeting few weeks in January, Seville oranges flood the market stalls, just the thing for making marmalade. Blink and you miss them. There is nothing like home-made jams, and marmalade more than any of the others. Shop bought are too sweet and not the same thing at all. What's more, it's actually very easy to make. The trick is not to make too much at any one time. All you need are Seville oranges (1.5kg), a lemon or two, water (3 litres) and sugar 3kg). You will also need a muslin or a jelly bag to put the pips and pith in to release the pectin, the thing that makes marmalade set.

Wash the fruit, cut them in half, squeeze out the juice and remove the pips.

Cut the peel in shreds and put it in a pan with the pips tied up in a muslin bag.

Add the water, lemon juice, and pulp.

Simmer for an hour and a half, remove the muslin bag (squash it against the pan with a spoon to release the pectin first), stir in all the sugar until it dissolves completely. Rapidly boil until setting point is reached. To test this, drop a splodge of marmalade onto a cold saucer (pop one in the freezer for a few minutes before hand. Push it with your finger and if it wrinkles, it is set. Pour into sterilised jars and seal immediately. Cover with a wax disc. We don't bother with them as we eat our marmalade so quickly!

Hot off the Press...

2012-01-13T04:19:00.000-08:00

...and just through the letterbox - long awaited advance copies of our Bumper Book of London. It's real and it's here. Hooray.

What the Dickens

2012-01-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

Having fun with Wordle. Our Dickens London walk produced this result..

Stories on Redchurch Street

2011-12-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

On one of our recent rambles round the East End we came across possibly the most beautiful pizza place and deli we've ever seen...

Boulevard Bonanza

2011-12-15T02:59:00.000-08:00

London's latest postcode N1C

The labyrinthine King's Cross has finally opened up, creating a brand new way through, handy for getting away from the Euston Road and exiting via the canal. They have decided to call it 'King's Boulevard', rather grandly described we feel.. The definition of a Boulevard according to Wikipedia is 'a type of road usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as a slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery'. It's got quite a long way to go before it gets there, but this is still an exciting touchstone of what is to come in this part of the world.

And it is one of a very few Boulevards in London. The only other one we can find is somewhere off the Balham High Road.

The new road links serenely from St Pancras International up to the bridge over the Regent's Canal, heading towards the about to be finished shopping centre (Covent Garden style) and the stunning new home of Central St Martin's College of Art and Design. Close by are the offices of The Guardian and King's Place, the place to go for concerts of a classical and folk kind. Tucked away behind it all are two acres of wild green space, the Camley Street Natural Park, perfect for budding naturalists.

Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays there are tasty looking pop-up food stalls at the canal end of King's Boulevard selling paella, kebabs and homemade chocolate goodies.

Works outing - the Adventure Walks for Families Christmas lunch

2011-12-12T00:21:00.000-08:00

For our Christmas lunch this year, we kept it local and nipped round the corner to the pop up restaurant at Islington Barn on Upper Street (PipsDish)behind Toast. All hay bales, gingham tablecloths, crooning music and farm shop. We feasted on a fabulous chicken and pearl barley broth, topped with a creamy dollop of caper and lemon rind mayonaise. Completely delicious.

For pudding we had a squidgy, sticky slab of carrot cake and black coffee. Simple but effective. The barn is the inspiration of cookery writer Philip Dundas, whose charmingly illustrated book Cooking without Recipes has caused a stir in the kitchen this Christmas.

Hand drawn maps of London

2011-12-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

Very excited to be pick of the week on the Friday Hand Drawn Maps of London blog for the Londonist.

Our London Adventure Walks for Families 101 Dalmatians map, drawn by the lovely and talented Frances Bennett, is displayed in its full glory.

Festive Fun this Christmas

2011-12-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

Get into the Christmas spirit..

1. Brave the cold and take a bracing walk to gather holly and ivy to make a wreath. Wrap it round a circle of florists' wire, decorate with baubles and hang on the front door.

2. Light a lantern and go carol singing down your street to raise money for a local charity.

3. Fill the house with seasonal scents and make a pomander. Take an orange, stick it with cloves and tie it up with pretty ribbon.

4. Wrap up warm and set off on a winter scavenger hunt for animal tracks, pine cones, berries, seed heads and different coloured leaves.

5. Make some star shaped biscuits to hang on the tree. Make a hole in them for the ribbon before they are baked.

Bumper Book of London...coming soon

2011-12-06T02:17:00.000-08:00

Hurrah. We've got a launch date for our new book The Bumper Book of London. 7th April 2012 since you are asking.

Busy scratching our heads trying to put together a party plan and all the things we need to do to get the book on the shelves.

Just designing a freebee book mark with it's funky new hi-tech QR....we are feeling very modern!

On your marks get set go… sneak a peek at the London Olympic Park

2011-11-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

Sneak a preview of London's amazing Olympic Park and shop ‘til you drop at Europe’s biggest and best shopping centre: Westfield.

Start: Hackney Wick Overground
End: Stratford Overground and mainline

Come out of Hackney Wick station and turn left. Take the first turning on the left, White Post Lane, opposite Mr Bagel’s warehouse and follow the street as it bends to the right and then left. You are walking through what remains of down-at-heel Hackney, pre-Olympic rebuild.

When you reach the canal, cross over the bridge and turn right onto the towpath. You are now along the River Lee Navigation, past tugs, narrow boats and old warehouses. The Hertford Union Canal peels off to the right. On your left you can soon see the first glimpses of the construction work at the Olympic Park.

On the opposite bank is the famous east end smokehouse and restaurant, Formans Smokehouse. It was one of the last buildings on the Olympic site and had to be winkled out at great expense and relocated here on the canal.

Keep going past Old Ford Lock and turn left over the bridge, crossing the River Lee. Turn right along the towpath, towards Bow.

After a low bridge over the water, take the path up on the left. This is the Greenway Path. It covers a gigantic sewage pipe called the Northern Outfall Sewer built by the great Victorian engineer Joseph Bazalgette back in the day. It runs for miles from the centre of London, taking the sewage away from the city through the east end and out in to the estuary.

You are soon on a wide straight path overlooking the entire Olympic Park with stunning views of the main stadium, the aquatics centre and the entire park. Anish Kapoor’s giant red tower, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, nicknamed the ‘helter skelter’ looms above it all. It is taller than Nelson’s column and you will be able to take a lift to an observation deck at the top for a fabulous view.

At the end of the path is the View Tube, housed in several apple green painted ship containers, with a nice café serving delicious pies and chocolate brownies which sell out fast.

Take the path down to the right just before the View Tube and wiggle your way through the construction works towards Pudding Mill Lane DLR station. Look out for a beautifully engraved round building which houses pumps and engineering stuff to service the Olympic Park.

Walk straight on down Pudding Mill Lane, passing the station, until you reach Bow Back River. Cross it and take the tow path down on the left. Walk along the river, passing a blue painted lock keeper’s cottage. Take the stairs up and turn right, then immediately left onto the very busy and noisy A118.

Walk straight on towards Stratford and turn left at Warton Road, following the signs to the Westfield Centre and Stratford Station. You have now walked round to the other side of the Olympic Park and can see everything from a completely different angle. There are better views of some of the other stadia, including the velodrome, nicknamed ‘the pringle’.

Keep going for about ten minutes before you reach the joys of the Westfield shopping centre on your left. The station entrance is inside the shopping centre.

The Lights of Broadway

2011-11-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

Here's one of our new adventure walks....

.....along the Regent’s Canal to the coolest Saturday food market in London, have a swim in a stunning heated outdoor at London Fields, then run through the glorious Victoria Park and discover a London secret.

Start: Haggerston Overground station

What to bring: swimming togs

Leave the station and cross Lee Street to walk down Stean Street all the way to the Regent's Canal. Take the steps down and turn left onto the leafy tow path, past colourful canal boats loaded with logs, bikes, window boxes full of herbs and flowers.

Just after Acton’s Lock, take the steps up from the canal to Broadway Market at the edge of London Fields. On Saturdays this is a bustling market with everything from fruit and veg, fresh fish, meat, delicious bread, cakes and cheese, cooked food stalls plus vintage clothes and bits and bobs. We like Sporeboys who cook up the most scrumptious fungi sandwiches and a fungi risotto. Children might prefer the sizzling burgers on a nearby stall rounded off with a very chocolatey crepe.

Midweek the street is much quieter but easier perhaps to wander in and out of the shops which you won’t find on any other high street: the lovely Rebel Rebel florists, Fabrications a textile gallery and haberdashery that runs craft courses, the lovely Broadway Bookshop, a real London jellied eel cafe and an independent toyshop.

If you brought your swimming things walk across the road at the top of the market to London Fields and the Lido. This has had a fantastic makeover and is London's only 50-metre, heated outdoor pool. The cafe also serves good snacks.

Otherwise head back down to the canal and carry on a little bit further until you reach Canal Gates which lead into the rather splendid Victoria Park, nicknamed the ‘People’s Park’. Laid out by the do-gooding Victorians, it was created as green space for the benefit of the people of the East End who suffered appallingly from industrial pollution, overcrowding and high childhood mortality. The park has everything you could possibly want: a lake, a boating pond, bluebell woods and an old English Garden.

Head into the park and follow the path round to the left hand side and keep going until you get to the rather grand Royal Gate. If you want a detour, leave the park and walk up Lauristan Road, an enclave of cafes and shops with a relaxed villagey feel. It has has a particularly good deli, www.thedelidownstairs.co.uk, a great fishmonger and the wonderful Ginger Pig Butcher www.thegingerpig.co.uk. We bought some delicious pies to eat.

Head back towards the park and turn into Royal Gate East, back into the park. Cut across the grass at a diagonal, heading to the eastern end. Keep going, enjoying the grassy expanse. Turn around to see a different view of London’s skyline, with Canada Tower, the Gherkin and the Shard standing tall in a row. Just beyond St Marks Gate is one of London’s little known secrets: the beautiful, strangely abandoned stone alcoves from the real old London Bridge rest here for no obvious reason. Apparently they were brought here in 1860.

Follow the path to the next exit at Cadogan Gate. Cross the footbridge over the A12 and walk straight on up Wallis Road to Hackney Wick Overground station and home.

Feeling Hungry?

2011-11-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Walking down the Bethnal Green Road the other day we stumbled into what turned out to be one of the best Italian cafes we’ve ever been to in London. We couldn’t believe we’d never heard of it before. Squeezing between the crowded tables, we were taken to a
table at in earshot of the kitchen by a charming young woman who turned out to be the daughter of the owner. Switching between Italian and cockney, she talked us through the menu and gave us a potted history of the cafe, set up over 100 years ago by her grandfather from Tuscany. Her mother cooks in the kitchen, making fresh lasagne, steak pies and bread pudding every day. We ate a huge plate of the most delicious cannelloni, finished off with the best coffee ever. Bustling with locals, it was a real slice of the East End.

Not only was the food amazing, so was its interior. One of the finest Italian carpenters in London carved the deco-style wood panel interior in 1946. It’s so beautifully done that the cafe has now been grade two listed and is described as ‘a perfect example of Italian cafe culture in post-war London.’

Pellicci’s opens from 6.30am for London’s cabbies. Six days a week. Closed on Sunday.

Secret London: London Bridge is Falling Down

2011-11-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

Curiously abandoned in London's Victoria Park are two of the original stone alcove seats from the famous old London Bridge. They were rescued when the bridge was pulled down in 1831 and date back to 1760, when the architect George Dance the Younger added them to provide a safe place for pedestrians to stop on the narrow crowded bridge. Head to the far east end of the park near St Mark's Gate, where they were placed in 1860. Inside you can still see the Bridge Association insignia carved into the stone.

Adventures at Home on London Adventure Walks

2011-11-14T03:18:00.000-08:00

Those lovely people from Adventures at Home have reviewed our Great Fire of London walk from the blue book. Click here and take a look at their day out in the Big Smoke.

Join the Lord Mayor of London for the day

2011-11-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

It's the annual Lord Mayor's Show this weekend - head to the city to see one London's best free parades. Watch the 'floats' at 11am, so named from the days when the parade took place on the River Thames. See the Lord Mayor in his Golden Coach, ridden in since 1757 and built at a grand cost of £1065.0s.3d.

While you are at it, explore the City. Discover the secrets of Dick Whittington's London: where he lived, where he worked and where he is buried. See the City's greatest buildings including Guildhall, with its medieval hall where Lord Mayor's have traditionally feasted on turtle soup, and Mansion House at Bank, where the Lord Mayor lives and holds court. Check out the walk in our Adventure Walks for Families in London book which takes you round the city to discover the story of London's Lord Mayor and the city.

Did you know? The first pantomime performance of Dick Whittington's story was at Covent Garden in 1814.
Whittington paid for a 64 seater public loo, overhanging the river, nicknamed 'Whittington's Longhouse'. It was one of the first public toilets in London.

Free Family fun days out for half term

2011-10-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Five free things to get up to this half term...these are some of our favourites

London's Roman Amphitheatre

Hidden in the bowels of the Guildhall Art Gallery in the heart of the City is a REAL Roman amphitheatre, not to be missed. Only recently unearthed, it is the only Roman amphitheatre found in London. The amphitheatre was big enough to hold 6,000 people, a quarter of roman London’s population and was the site of many fierce gladiatorial battles, public executions and wild animal fights. To soak up the blood, the centre of the arena was filled with sand...

Smugglers’ Hideouts

Wander along the cobbled streets of Wapping dip down to the water’s edge at Wapping Old Stairs for a spot of mudlarking. See where the pirates of long ago were hung in gibbets at execution dock and have a pint of lemonade at the Prospect of Whitby, once a haunt of sailors, smugglers, footpads and cut-throats.

Great Fire of London

Follow the trail of the fire from Pudding Lane to St Paul’s Cathedral. Climb the Monument (small fee) and claim your certificate for doing so. Wiggle down the lanes that were licked by flames, past St Mary le Bow on Cheapside. Look for blue plaques marking the buildings that burnt. Take the lift to the top of the new shopping centre, One New Change, just by Wren’s magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral and see the City spread out below.

Isabella Plantation

Explore one of London’s little known secret woodlands tucked away in the wilds of Richmond Park. The Isabella Plantation is a hidden haven, complete with twisty paths, stepping stones, bridges and bushes to hide in. What makes this place great is that it is enclosed, making it perfect for children to explore without disappearing all together. For the grown ups, there are 50 different species of rhododendron; camellias and magnolias. In autumn, the guelder roses, rowan and spindle trees are at their best and the leaves of the acers are turning a glowing red.

Greenwich

Jump aboard a Thames Clipper boat from anywhere along the river down to Greenwich and spend the day exploring the wonderful National Maritime Museum. Climb the hill to the Observatory for a picnic. Beware that you can’t straddle time any more for free – there is now a £10 fee to walk on the Greenwich Meridian Line that divides the globe, east and west. Boo hoo. Make sure you look up to the top of Flamstead House at 12.55 and watch the large red ball rise slowly to the top of the spire. At exactly 1pm, it dramatically drops down again. It is one of the oldest public clocks and was designed so that ships on the Thames could correct their watches. At the end of the day, walk under water via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and take the space age DLR home.

Escape to the forest: hideouts and highwaymen

2011-10-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Adventure

This weekend is good for a leafy autumn walk. Head out to Epping Forest, a perfect place for playing ambush games, just like the legendary highwayman Dick Turpin might have done in his day. It is said that Turpin used to stash his loot and hide out at Loughton Camp, an Iron Age fort, deep in the woods.

Explore the forest to find the Lost Pond and take the opportunity to do some fishing or build a twig house, whittle sticks and climb trees. Practising orienteering would be a valuable exercise here too as it’s easy to get lost the moment you leave the paths.

Keep your eyes open as Epping is a site of special scientific interest and many rare plants and animal species can be found here. You might even see deer as about five hundred roam in the forest.

To get there, take the M11 for just a few junctions north of London. For full details of a walk in Epping Forest, see Chapter 5 of Adventure Walks for Families.

What’s it like

Well maintained gravel or sand paths and woodland tracks. Gentle incline. Can be muddy.

What will I need?

A picnic – there is no obvious place to buy food en route and nowhere once you are parked up at the forest. If you visit the information centre there is a tea hut across the road that sells the basics. Back in Loughton there are the usual pizza joints.
A compass. It is easy to get disorientated in a forest even though you are only a mile away from the road at any point.
A penknife for whittling sticks or making a fishing rod
Bread to feed the mandarin ducks at the Lost Pond
Dressing up sword and highwayman’s cloak

Make a weekend of it

Pack up your tent and stay the night. There is an excellent campsite at Debden on the edge of the forest where you are allowed to have real fires. Toast marshmallows and roast sweet chestnuts gathered in the woods. Debden Campsite Tel 0208 508 3008

This is a map of the walk we did in Epping Forest in Adventure Walks for Families in and Around London hand drawn by talented graphic artist Frances Bennett.

Secret London: Great views

2011-10-03T01:55:00.000-07:00

The newest and, we think, the best vantage point to gaze at London’s iconic skyline is one of London's best kept secrets, yet to be discovered. Get there first!

To find it head down to Cheapside at the St Paul’s Cathedral end. Slip through one of the discreet entranceways of the spanking new shopping mall, One New Change. Jump into one of its funky clear glass lifts to be whisked up to the 6^th floor and step out onto a breath-taking roof top terrace and the best free view in London.

Simply walk around and take in the 180 degree view from the Shard, to the river, to St Paul's and the City. Or have a drink or dinner in the Madison Restaurant up on the roof. It's open from 7am to midnight, seven days a week.

You heard about it here first.

East End Chic: a London walk from Brick Lane to Bethnal Green

2011-09-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd bring you a free walk this week. Let us know what you think if you try it out.

Adventure Walks in London

Get to grips with London’s cutting edge street scene in the East End with this easy to follow walk through the heart of one London’s most happening places. Find out where to hang, what’s hip and happening and why Shoreditch is dripping with cool. Scroll down to The Knowledge with our hot tips, best offs and must dos in the area.

The Bare Essentials

Start the walk at Aldgate East Tube station (Hammersmith and City Line, District Line)

End the walk at Bethnal Green Tube station (Central Line)

Transport for London

London’s Barclay bike hire on Brick Lane

The Walk

Leave the tube station via Exit 3 Northside and pop out onto the Whitechapel Road, bang next door to the recently revamped Whitechapel Art Gallery. Nip in to for a quick blast of modern masters and contemporary art, all free. Grab a good cup of coffee in their Dining Room on the way out.

Turn left out of the gallery and then first left onto Brick Lane and Banglatown, the scene of Monica Ali’s book Brick Lane. This is less trendy end of Brick Lane is packed with tempting Indian sweet and cake shops, shimmering sari shops, Bangladeshi signs boasting best curry in London, all to the strains of Asian music and the smells of spicy roast chickens.

Up ahead is the shining silver minaret of the Jamme Masjid mosque. This mosque captures the history of Spitalfields: the building began life in 1742 as La Neuve Eglise a Hugeunot chapel by 1809 it was known as the Jews Chapel, to promote Christianity to Jews, by 1898 it had become a synagogue and finally 1976 it became the mosque it is today.

For a short detour off Brick Lane to see some of the best preserved Huguenot houses in London, turn left at the mosque into Fournier Street. The elegant Georgian houses with their distinctive painted wooden shutters belonged to the Protestant weavers who fled religious persecution in France. The large attic spaces were used for their looms for silk weaving. Turn right into Wilkes Street and then right again into Princelet Street to rejoin Brick Lane.

Turn left. The cheap curry houses are now cheek by jowl with vintage clothes shops, artisan galleries and cutting edge architectural practices. As you cross over Hanbury Street look down to the right to see a stunning 20ft high bird graffited on to a bare wall in marker pen by Belgian graffiti artist called Roa. He has daubed lots of squirrels, rats and the like all round London’s streets.

Keep going and you will pass the old Truman Brewery building with its iconic brick chimney. Back in 1683 a brewer called Joseph Truman drew water from the wells here to make Londoner’s Black Eagle Beer. Come at the weekend (Saturday and Sunday 11-6pm) if you want to catch the Backyard Market and the Sunday Up Market, teeming with edgy urban design, street food fashion and jewellery.

Pass All Star Bowling Lanes, a retro American style bowling alley, karaoke and burger bar, vintage clothes stores and the Brick Lane Bookshop, one of London’s great new style independent bookstores. At weekends this stretch is choc a bloc with market stalls and flea market tat.

Walk under the railway bridge and take the first right onto the Cheshire Street lined with the best of the independent shops that inhabit this area this draw the independent thinking shopper to the East End. Lots of these shops are only open at the weekends. Our favourites include Handmade Interiors with its simple patterned textiles, fabrics and cushions, A-non great T-shirt shop for teenagers, Tools stuffed with vintage French bric a brac and the Duke of Uke London’s best ukulele and banjo shop. Just beyond the shops is a great deli and café the Tramezzino Store where you can pick up a sandwich or a coffee.

Keep going past the Beyond Retro vintage clothing warehouse, the old Repton Boxing Club and the Bath House to traffic lights by the railway line. Turn left up Vallance Road towards. Cross at the zebra and walk straight on alongside the park down Chester Street. Turn left on Kelsey Street and into the park ahead, Weavers Fields by the old Victorian school. Follow the path to the right, past the swings towards the sculpture. Keep going straight ahead towards Weavers Field Woodland Walk a nice diversion for anyone with children and a good spot for a picnic. Walk out of the park, passing the adventure playground on the left. Turn left onto Wilmot Street and turn right on the high street, Bethnal Green Road, a short walk from Bethnal Green tube station and the Museum of Childhood on Heath Road.

Turn left at the traffic lights and walk through Paradise Gardens to the pedestrian lights just opposite the museum. It is completely free to wander round and is busy with family events and activities. It is a wonderful cornucopia of childhood nostalgia packed with huge glass cases of mechanical toys, exquisite dolls houses, wooden rocking horses and good old fashioned games. Eat at the great child and adult friendly Benugo café and spend your pocket money at the museum shop. Take the tube home from Bethnal Green.

The Knowledge

Here are some places nearby worth coming back for….

Cool East End streets to shop in

Spitalfields market

Redchurch Street

Shoreditch High Street

Columbia Road

Broadway Market

Best places to Eat

Pizza East Shoreditch High Street

St John’s Bread and Wine Commercial Street

Rochelle School Arnold Circus

Rivington Grill Rivington Street

Mangal Arcola Street (Turkish)

A Gold Brushfield Street

Beigel Bake Brick Lane (Jewish)

Tayyabs Fieldgate Street (Pakistani)

Something for the weekend

Experience 18^th century life at Dennis Severs House Folgate Street

Take your sketch book to The Prince's Drawing School, Charlotte Road

Hone your juggling skills at Circus Space, Coronet Street

See a screening at the art house Aubin Cinema Redchurch Street

Experience cutting edge theatre at the Arcola Theatre Ashwin Street

Shop at London’s most beautiful hardware store Labour and Wait Redchurch Street

Oggle the best YBA’s work at the White Cube Gallery, Hoxton Square

Roll your sleeves up at kids Saturday workshop at the Geffrye Museum Kingsland Road

Get mud on your boots at the Spitalfields City Farm Buxton Street

Fill your store cupboard with Indian and Bangladeshi lata, danga, pulses, grains and spices at the Taj Stores, Brick Lane.

On the Trail

2011-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

This morning we walked under the stunning 3 storey high Timber Wave at the Cromwell Road entrance to the V&A. Snaked our way through the galleries to the London Design Festival hub and picked up our map. Rolled around on the Textile Field in the Raphael gallery, then did a speed walk round the rest spotting the LDF exhibits along the way. It was a bit like hunt the thimble looking out for the LDF exhibits nestled in between the usual fare of the museum. Loved designing our own wallpaper on the ipad in the Beyond the Valley gallery (2nd floor of the British Galleries). Touch the screen and add glorious images and illustrations to a background scene, a bit like high-tech fuzzy felt. Uploaded our creations. Loved the David Mach's giant silver gorilla.

Top Tips for the V&A:
Start at the Exhibition Road entrance to get information, free bag, free directory and map etc.
Exit via Cromwell Road and the Power of Making exhibition, V&A and Crafts Council joint effort.

We got a bit lost. Highly recommend asking the very helpful gallery guides who know just how to get about the museum.

A couple of ideas for Boxing Day Walks

2010-12-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

We've put a couple suggestions together from our Adventure Walks books for anyone who feels like heading off on Boxing Day to shake off the effects of Christmas... full walk descriptions are in the books, but here is a little taster that might get you going.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Drive out to the Chilterns for a two and a half mile walk in the rolling hills where Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was filmed. Park in the picturesque village of Turville . Walk towards the Church and take the path out of the village past the old school on a footpath shaded by trees. Stride up the hill on the footpath to the right and make a circular walk, with views of the windmill behind you. Sing as many songs as you can remember from the film, look out for Red Kites flying high above you and have lunch at the Bull and Butcher pub where you can order Chitty Chitty Bangers and Mash. 01491 638283. Ordnance survey map 171.

Swallows and Amazons
Pack the wellington boots and head for Pin Mill near Chelmondiston on River Orwell in Suffolk, once home to Arthur Ransome of Swallows and Amazon's fame. You can see Alma Cottage where Peter, Susan, Titty and Roger stayed. Take the river path along the from the Butt and Oyster pub on the River Orwell. Book your table before you go and walk along the estuary and back. Tell stories of sea dogs and pirates and practise whole body semaphore. Watch the boats on the river and head back to the pub for a warm rum and treacle pudding. Ordnance survey map 197.

More to follow...

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

2010-11-06T02:30:00.000-07:00

Well the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is well and truly here. Gather sweet chestnuts and roast them on the fire. Sit back, peel and eat. Toast marshmallows too. Delicious.

Mushrooms galore

2010-11-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mushroom hunting in the woods

See if you can identify them.

The ones you can eat

... and the ones you most definitely can't

Miss Happiness

2010-11-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

While researching our next walks book for children, we have come across this obituary of the fabulous and extraordinary Rumer Godden, writer of the most glorious children's book Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, among others.

Parts of the obituary below is taken from the Daily Telegraph on Sunday 14th November, 1998: Read full biography here

Margaret Rumer Godden was born at Eastbourne - "the most dreadful place", as she later came to think - on December 10th 1907. At six months she was taken by her parents to India, where her father ran a steamship company in the Bengal delta. Rumer Godden, cursed with a nose that resembled the Duke of Wellington's, was the only plain daughter. She was especially jealous of her elder sister Jon, who was as talented as she was beautiful.

"Everything she did was marvellous," Rumer Godden recalled at the end of her life, "and nobody took any notice of me, which was very healthy. To be ignored is the best possible thing for a writer. My writing was an effort to outdo Jon."

In 1920 she and her sisters were sent to school in England. With their wild, precocious ways, and their sing-song Eurasian accents, they were ridiculed by teachers and fellow pupils alike. Rumer Godden trained in ballet, and back in India in 1925 opened a multi-racial dance school in Calcutta, which she ran successfully for eight years. But in 1934 she became pregnant as a result of a liaison with the dashing Laurence Sinclair Foster, "one of the Worcester Fosters", a stockbroker who thought that Omar Khayyam was a kind of curry.

"You'll just have to marry me and pretend you like it," he told her. So the knot was tied; the baby, however, died four days after birth. Rumer Godden's first novel, Chinese Puzzle, was published the next year.

Two further daughters survived, but the marriage did not prosper. When she sat silent and icy at cocktail parties, Foster would say: "Can't you be more chatty?"

In 1941 he left to join the Army, leaving her encumbered with debts which mopped up the proceeds of Black Narcissus. She retreated to Kashmir, and moved into a cottage high in the mountains with no electricity or running water - "the most beautiful place you could imagine", as she thought. To support her girls she got up at 4am to write, and returned to her desk when they had gone to bed until 11pm. It was while they were living in Kashmir that a cook attempted to poison them by mixing powdered glass, opium and marijuana with the lunchtime fare of dahl and rice. "It's gritty," her elder girl complained. In consequence, none but the dog perished.

In 1949 Rumer Godden married a civil servant called James Haynes Dixon, who looked after her devotedly, leaving her free to produce a steady stream of books in the 1950s and 1960s. "A nice, ugly man," she described him. "He would do anything for me, but it was not the other way round." Her heart, she claimed, had been given to Jane Austen's Mr Darcy: "I loved him far more than my own husbands."

She also wrote books for children, including The Doll's House (1947), The Mousewife (1951) and Miss Happiness and Miss Flower (1961). In 1972 she won the Whitbread Award for The Diddakoi; Kingsley Amis called it "the sort of book children had to fight for to get it from adults".

"There are several things children will not put up with in a book," she reflected. "You have to have a proper beginning and an end; you cannot have flashbacks. Then you can't have a lot of description: keep it to a minimum. And you must be very careful with words. I find I use fewer, and they have to fit the case exactly and be chosen with extreme care."

Don't you just love her?

Family Christmas Theatre Shows

2010-10-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Bookings are open for Christmas shows and with so much choice these days for families it’s often hard to decide which will be the winners. Past performance is often a good way to narrow down the field.

On that basis, first on the list has to be the Little Angel Puppet Theatre’s production of Alice in Wonderland (www.littleangelpuppettheatre.com). Picking up on Lewis Carroll’s nonsense world the show is packed with verbal jokes, witty songs and visual tricks. Whether you make it for Christmas or not a visit to the Little Angel is hugely atmospheric at any time of the year. It has been the home of British puppetry since 1961 when it was founded by a troupe of enthusiastic puppeteers under the leadership of South African master, John Wright, in a derelict temperance hall off Cross Street in Islington. It puts on shows, their own creations as well as touring companies, using all styles of puppetry: marionette (puppets on strings); rod; table top, glove, shadow, and Japanese Bunraku. It’s a magical world and one not to be missed.

Other offerings this Christmas that look worth bagging a seat for include the Hampstead Theatre’s Beasts and Beauties (www.hampsteadtheatre.com) dramatised by Melly Still (who directed a gem of a production of Cinderella at the Lyric Hammersmith’s couple of years ago) and Tim Supple. Otherwise the National Theatre always tends to put on a good production. This year the team that directed last year’s winner, the Cat in the Hat are back with Beauty and the Beast (www.nationaltheatre.org.uk) so it should be excellent.

For some, Christmas isn’t Christmas without the booing and hissing, double entendre’s and full on audience participation of the traditional pantomime. The best are usually at either Theatre Royal Stratford East (http://www.stratfordeast.com) whose Little Red Riding Hood starts on 4^th December or the Hackney Empire (http://www.hackneyempire.co.uk). They are showing another old favourite: Jack and the Beanstalk complete with a singing harp, a golden hen, a giant of all giants and Buttercup, the break dancing cow. Can’t wait…..

The Story of London

2010-10-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

'London is a city in which there has been a great ‘Eureka!’ moment around almost every corner.' Boris Johnson

There are so many things going on in London that it is almost impossible to keep up with them all. Some of the best are completely free. The success of last year's Story of London festival has led Boris and his team to make this an annual event. With over 100 events between this weekend and the 10th October, it is worth checking out their website and finding something that suits you. Go to The Story of London Festival website and download the Time Out guide. The festival is a celebration of London 'as a city at the forefront of innovation and inspiration'. There are dozens of workshops, walks, lectures and screenings.

We especially love the 'London in a Box' idea - they are giving out over 4000 cardboard boxes from Council offices among other places, for people to fill with pictures, ideas, old bus tickets, photos etc of what London means to them. Take a look at My London in a Box for details of where to submit your masterpieces.

Pretty much every day until the 9th October, there are two free filmmaking workshops for 8-16 year-olds. The first, at 10.30am, is about futuristic London; the second, at 2pm, focuses on the Londoner Charlie Chaplin. It all takes place at the London Film Museum, County Hall, Belvedere Rd, SE1 7PB (020 7202 7040) near Waterloo tube.

Other favourites include a free talk on Florence Nightingale by Dr Rosemary Wall, with a walk and an exhibition, starting at the Maughan Library, King's College London, Chancery Lane tube, from 6 - 8pm on Thursday 7th October. email specialcollections@kcl.ac.uk to book.

Take the children to hear firefighters talking about the history of firefighting in London since the 1666 Great Fire at the London Fire Brigade Museum, 94 Southwark Bridge Road near Borough tube. From 10 - 3 on Friday 8th October.

For the budding artist, head East to Walthamstow, home of the writer, socialist, designer, craftsman and conservationist William Morris unique multimedia show of contemporary artist and craftsfolk. Saturday 10 - 3pm at the William Morris Gallery, E17. Walthamstow Central tube/rail.

Discover what 'Tottenham Pudding' was to Londoners during the War and go to Stir it Up - A Recipe for Recylicng: learn how to make do and mend as they did in the olden days, from rag rugs to pig swill and packed with family activities. They are even going to bury a time capsule. Markfield Beam Engine and Museum, Markfield Rd, Markfield Park. Seven Sisters tube/rail. Sunday October 10th. 11 - 4pm. Free.

Hips, Haws and Hedgerows

2010-10-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

Cobnuts

Don't know about you, but we think the blackberries have been better than ever this year. When we walked in the Chilterns the other day and picked our way down the hedgerows, the blackberries were unusually delicious.. cobnuts were littering the ground; sloes, hips, and elderberries were weighing down the branches.

We came home laden - or would have done if we had thought to take a bag to gather it all into.....Here's the link for the blackberry jelly recipe we were going to use: blackberry jelly . Never been quite sure what to do with cobnuts other than have them in a bowl on the table only to throw them out untouched a few weeks later. Finally thought it best to look up what to do and found this: Cobnut Recipes on the really nice Allen's Farm website. Apparently children used to play a version of “conkers” with hazelnuts.

Blackberries

Sculpture in the Park

2010-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Anish Kapoor's sculptures in Kensington Gardens

Sculpture in the Park

2010-09-27T02:52:00.001-07:00

If you are in London and want a walk in the park head to Kensington Gardens to see the fantastic Anish Kapoor sculptures. This is part of a new directive by Julia Peyton-Jones, director of the Serpentine Gallery, to bring art out of the gallery and put it where everybody can see it. These giant stainless street mirrored sculptures provide endless entertainment - think Fun Fair Hall of Mirrors style distortions. They also enchantingly reflect and enhance the landscape, trees, sky, water, wildlife in the park.If like us it is an uphill struggle to get your brood excited about going to a modern art exhibition, entice them to come out with tales of Peter Pan, Pirates, and ticking crocodiles using the the Peter Pan walk from our book London Adventure Walks for Families. Once you've got them to the park it's pretty much a guarantee that, in spite of themselves, the children will love the sculptures too. http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2010/03/anish_kapoor.html

Day at the Museum

2010-09-27T02:50:00.000-07:00

Tales of a City: London Adventure Walks for Families on sale

in the Museum of London bookshop

We set off to re-explore the Museum of London. We hadn't been since it's amazing makeover and came out greatly inspired. The museum has completely revolutionised the way they display their collections. It is out with the boring glass cabinets and in with real life settings and interactive displays. We especially liked the Victorian Walk, a charmingly atmospheric street, packed with all the shops you would expect on a high street, the pharmacy, the toy shop, a barber, a milliner, a pub, and even a latrine, brilliantly bringing Victorian London to life. Have expected Charles Dickens to appear from round the corner. The Pleasure Garden was also real delight, an 18th Century park recreated with trees, figures dressed in period costume, birdsong and chatter, with a clever backdrop of film of acrobatic entertainments. It makes you feel as if you are really there. If you haven't been for ages then a wander round here would be an easy and enjoyable way to spend a rainy afternoon, the children will hardly realise they are in a museum. What's more it's completely free. http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk

New beginnings for Adventure Walks

2010-09-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new Adventure Walks blog. We are planning to use it to give our readers ideas and inspiration on where to go and what to do with children. We've picked out our favourites off the beaten track museums and places to go for families and are always on the lookout for new, special places. We will be walking regularly and will feedback on where we've been and what we've seen. Sign up if you'd like to receive free walks for families by emailing us at Adventure Walks. Our website adventurewalksforfamilies.co.uk is still up and running but we wanted to find a more interactive forum for you to tell us about your walk experiences and for us to send you regular updates and information. We'd love to see your photos and suggestions, too.

A children's workshop and leaf rubbing with crayons

Isabella and Otti on a Winnie the Pooh walk with the Daily Telegraph

Becky at the Golden Treasury Bookshop, South London