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Family Favourites Ideas for what to do with little ones.


Buggy friendly walks F


our years ago I married my husband, Nick. And, after a period of constant harassment in the form of “so … kids?” whenever out with friends,


we eventually caved and I now find myself a very tired and totally clueless mother of one bouncing baby boy – Rafael, or Rafa for short (and yes, I do have a favourite tennis player). Alright, honestly, I couldn’t be happier but – my god;


what am I supposed to do with him all day, every day?! I can’t imagine that I’m the only mum who


wakes up to the baby/toddler alarm clock in precisely the same quandary and so I thought I’d share some of my own solutions and hopefully, in the process, give some ideas to similarly frantic parents desperate to get out with their little ones, anywhere, whatever the weather, for minimal cost. Here goes then – 9pm, baby in bed for 5 minutes and counting, husband fed and snoozing on the sofa, no excuses. My first solution comes in the form of buggy friendly


By Philippa Hutton My god;


what on earth am I supposed to do with him all day, every day?!


walks – fresh air is my new best friend when it comes to tiring the little chap out and a leg stretch for me means I can at least claim to have done a smidgen of exercise before clutching at the bottle of prosecco come evening (or 1pm on a Friday). Outing #1 - Avon Dam and Reservoir Avon Dam is a huge, impressive, man-made structure on the edge of the Moor, near south Brent. It’s one of a series of dams built on Dartmoor in the last century to supply drinking water to our local towns. From the free car park at shipley Bridge, marked on the os map, a smooth-ish walkway gently slopes


uphill towards the dam for approximately 1.8 miles. the path is ideal for buggies (three abreast comfortably), hyperactive youngsters and the knackered adult – nothing too strenuous here ladies and gents, rest assured; although it would lend itself to any keen joggers. We walked. oh and it was chucking it down; couldn’t have been wetter, or the visibility poorer. What were we thinking? … If I hear the tune from your bouncer one more time I will throttle that plastic crab…mocking me with his orange pincers, I’d cook him if I could … that’s what. What’s a bit of rain after all? I laugh in the face of storm Abigail. the walk is very scenic – even when sodden – running alongside the river for the most part, with mossy boulders aplenty to begin with and then opening up into more rugged moorland, thick with


bastard grass. Bastard grass is the clumpy, long stuff, so named in our family after my husband once dragged me across two hills worth of the stuff, claiming that we would soon stumble across the track showing on the map. We didn’t and this grass, coupled with my remarks on his navigating skills, nearly ended our relationship. Hence the name – bastard grass. But, happily, on the stroll up to the reservoir it grows prettily by the side of the path. Good old tarmac. the landscape really is very picturesque and the track meanders through lots of geography and


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