Anyone with young kids want to join me?

[rivers]

I'm headed off on a long weekend (4 day/3 night) tour with my toddler (just over 2.5) on the August bank holiday weekend. I'm leaving from Yatton on the Friday and headed off down the Strawberry Line to Cheddar. From there, we're headed to Brean, and then from Brean to Clevedon (well Kingston Seymour with the Monday spent in Clevedon before riding home). We're camping in Cheddar, Brean, and Kingston Seymour. The route is a combination of off-road family friendly shared use paths and quiet roads, and it's not too hilly with nothing more than 20ish miles/day of riding. Pace will be chill, with lots of stops for playing, picnics, running around on the beach, and letting the little ones have fun. I did the route last year with my little one and he had an absolute ball. The campsites in Cheddar and Brean had play areas for the kids and cafes/shops on site. Kingston Seymour was tiny, but we had fun blackberry picking and ordering dominoes/running around the field. There is a cafe on site that is open for breakfast.
If anyone is interested in joining, please comment here or send me a PM. It would be nice to have some adult company.

 

[Sixmile]

Sounds great, I'd love to see your route and hear about it when you're done. We've flown to Bristol before and rode out through Bath to Paulton but no further. I've previously ridden up through Brean & Weston Super Mare when riding Exeter to Bristol airport too - some nice wee spots around there.

 

[Sharky]

Sounds fun, enjoy.

 

[Cathryn]

Ten years ago, I would have bitten your hand off. Have a wonderful time!

 

[I like Skol]

I am well jell! My two little boys are 21 & 18 now so the days of such adventures have long since passed. We still have big adventures, but these are far removed from the early bicycle trips we did when they were little more than babies.....

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/1-yr-old-in-bike-seat-helmet.88324/#post-1582465

Got back from my 1st cycle mini-tour last night. Took my two sons age 11 and 14 for a little tester to check out the feasibility of bigger, more involved tours in the future. Travelling from Ashton-under-Lyne on Tuesday headed for a campsite just outside Culcheth for our overnight stay and then on Wednesday slightly less mileage but a little hill at the end before reaching my wife's workplace where we would load the bikes onto the roof rack for a lift home to our own beds.

Day 1
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From Ashton it was straight onto the Ashton Canal towards Manchester, gradually losing height as we passed along this well surfaced and often travelled route to the big smoke. My bike was like a tank as it had 4 panniers loaded with most of the gear we wanted to try and make the trip do-able but without yet heading out to buy any specialised equipment.
We stopped off at some of the notable landmarks along the way...
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My favourite part of this stretch of canal is the passage under the Piccadilly area where the canal passes under/is built over by the towering buildings above. The narrow walkways and locks all occupy the gloomy space beneath where there are ALWAYS a small number of shady characters loitering suspiciously in the shadows, not really a place I would like my kids or wife to go unaccompanied!
Going underground......
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Passing through the centre of Manchester along Canal Street and past Deansgate locks we decided to have a little breather outside a bar in Castlefield while the sun was shining, before continuing on the Bridgewater Canal out to Broadheath, near Altrincham, passing another famous stadium along the way.
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From Broadheath we then diverted on to the Trans-Pennine Trail past Dunham Massey, leaving the trail just before Rush Green where we crossed the River Bollin on a lane that turned out to be little more than a farm track and deposited us in Warburton just before an unexpected toll bridge.
The Bollin crossing....
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I would have taken a picture of the rather impressive Warburton toll bridge but it was rather busy and I was a little concerned for my two boys. After this we headed up Dam Lane and School lane past Risley Moss where I could swear we met @MossCommuter heading the other way looking fast and focused all in black! I shouted "Mossy" a couple of times as he disappeared into the distance but he either didn't hear or maybe recognised me and pretended not to hear
We crossed over the M62 and then crossed the large Birchwood landfill site via another rather bumpy and unsuitable path! It was here that our carton of milk gave up the ghost and started dripping out of the bottom of one of the panniers. Luckily by this point we were only a mile or two from our destination for the day and passed a local Sainsbury's in Culcheth so could restock the lost milk.
It was gloriously sunny when we pitched our tent for the night.
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Dinner that evening was taken in the Italian restaurant in Culcheth which brought the days mileage upto 34 miles, not bad for day 1.

 

[rivers]

The weather gods were not with us this past weekend and the trip didn't go exactly to plan, but that doesn't mean we didn't have an amazing time. Instead of doing our little tour around Somerset, we ended up just staying at our campsite in Cheddar for the weekend (Petruth Paddocks which I highly recommend to anyone). We rode from our home in Nailsea to Yatton Station with my wife for lunch and to watch the trains (my son loves watching the trains), before the two of us headed off down the Strawberry line. Once in a safe and wide area of the Strawberry Line, I let my little man out of his trailer so he could scoot and pick blackberries for around 30 minutes, before putting him back in. We got to the campsite mid-afternoon, he helped me set up the tent, and then he was off to play area. He pretty much stayed in the play area, running around, until dinner, and then again until bed. It absolutely chucked it down overnight and into the morning, raining off and on until about mid-day. I didn't fancy packing away a wet tent, so made the decision to spend one more night in Cheddar. Little man and I scooted off to a local play park and tesco for some bits for dinner once it brightened up in the afternoon. Rinse and repeat of the night before, including the torrential rain overnight, but not as much in the morning. If you're in one of the grass fields at Petruth Paddocks, you don't need to be off site until 6pm, so I was able to let the tent dry out before packing it away on Sunday. With more weather moving in, and the winds picking up, I made the decision to go home, once again stopping at Yatton Station for lunch and train watching.

 

[blackrat]

Do people really drive around in double decker buses converted into campervans?

 

[Gwylan]

Well done. Time together means a lot. He probably won't remember much, but the entire thing will impact your relationship.

Keep it up!

 

[Cathryn]

Absolutely love this! Well done!

 

[fossyant]

Do people really drive around in double decker buses converted into campervans?

It's probably a permanent fixture on the camp. Glamping bus.