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Font with the Kids (Read 24485 times)

fried

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#50 Re: Font with the Kids
July 20, 2019, 09:51:14 am
Not sure if you have seen the heatwave warning. My weather app is giving me max temps of 35° Monday, 39° Tuesday and 41° for Wednesday and Thursday. Meteofrance says a little lower, one thing for sure...it will be hot.

In addition to other suggestions, Buthiers base des loisirs has a pool. Further down the Loing towards Moret sur loing are swimming spots under shady trees , usually with an ice-cream van nearby.

i.munro

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#51 Re: Font with the Kids
July 20, 2019, 02:08:13 pm
French govt is in full-on "don't panic" mode. Tv ads & everything! https://www.gouvernement.fr/risques/canicule

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#52 Re: Font with the Kids
July 21, 2019, 11:12:58 am
The best kids area I know by far is Feuillardiere  (Canche/ Telegraphe area) where there is a really good kids white and a ditto for the toddlers purple heart circuit, both with nothing high. There is also a good newish Yellow circuit which is yellow (ie mostly below f3). The white circuit is p.183 in the new Jingo Wobbly Fun guide (but you won't need any guidebook). Parking is on the big area on the left when heading west (towards Milly) on the D409, 500m after crossing the A6. The approach track heads south from the parking  with no navigation complications and is buggy and 'are we nearly there yet'  friendly being about a 300m flat walk.

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#53 Re: Font with the Kids
July 21, 2019, 07:22:15 pm
Thanks all for the tips. Yes, spotted that 30 degrees is now looking like 40 degrees....we’re due to arrive on friday when it will hopefully have cooled slightly.

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#54 Re: Font with the Kids
July 22, 2019, 02:39:53 pm
If its that hot, Beauvais has some of the deepest shade.

fatneck

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#55 Re: Font with the Kids
February 24, 2020, 08:51:56 am
Hive Mind - Font at Easter for the first time with wife and 11 year old (wife and I have been before sans enfant). 11 year old not overly psyched on climbing and we have planned alternative activities but we would like to do some walking. In my head there should be plenty of walking guides as there are plenty of marked walking routes (25 bosses etc) but my googling says no... So, would the Tourist info in Milly have walking guides? Has anyone got a walking guide French is fine? Any other recommendations or do I just do what I normally do and plot routes on Strava?

Cheers,

Si

nai

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#56 Re: Font with the Kids
February 24, 2020, 09:13:49 am

sidewinder

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#57 Re: Font with the Kids
February 24, 2020, 09:17:57 am
I believe the ign map also shows some other smaller routes that have markings.

SA Chris

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#58 Re: Font with the Kids
February 24, 2020, 09:25:57 am
The IGN Map has all the walking routes marked IIRC, i can check tonight. I think some of the routes are good for MTB too, if you can hire one.

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#59 Re: Font with the Kids
February 24, 2020, 10:39:14 am
We found the following route marked on the IGN 1:25000 map, We parked at Elephant and stopped for a picnic halfway around on the top of the Dame Jouanne outcrop which offers stunning views.

https://www.unmondedaventures.fr/randonnee-montagne-de-la-dame-jouanne-a-larchant/

fatneck

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#60 Re: Font with the Kids
February 24, 2020, 01:29:09 pm
Print some of these pages?

https://www.visorando.com/en/walk-77-seine-et-marne.html

How bizarre - I have an account that page but for some reason last night it was trying to charge me to download the routes which is what prompted me to ask the question in the first place - all seems to working now,.

Thanks for the input guys!!

Will Hunt

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#61 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 12:44:47 pm
Does anybody have any beta on how to break up the drive from Calais - specifically for a 2.5 and nearly-turned-5 year old (and a partner who is catastrophising everything [the drive is too long, the ferry will be really rough, an asteroid will probably fall on us]). I'm not sure that a service station will cut the mustard unless it has a good outdoor play area.

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#62 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 12:56:13 pm
Arras:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arras

and Senlis:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senlis

Are both very attractive towns which shouldn't be too much of a detour and could make for a more substantial break? You could have a little mooch around the town centres, soak up some history, grab a bite to eat or coffee. Am sure they both have decent park areas for the kiddo to wander around.

Ged

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#63 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 02:42:23 pm
Does anybody have any beta on how to break up the drive from Calais - specifically for a 2.5 and nearly-turned-5 year old (and a partner who is catastrophising everything [the drive is too long, the ferry will be really rough, an asteroid will probably fall on us]). I'm not sure that a service station will cut the mustard unless it has a good outdoor play area.

Portsmouth to le havre to reduce drive time?

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#64 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 02:55:02 pm
It's been a couple of years but I recall there are a couple of larger service stations to kill an hour or so, I think they are at Assevillers and Arras....

Will Hunt

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#65 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 03:14:45 pm
Does anybody have any beta on how to break up the drive from Calais - specifically for a 2.5 and nearly-turned-5 year old (and a partner who is catastrophising everything [the drive is too long, the ferry will be really rough, an asteroid will probably fall on us]). I'm not sure that a service station will cut the mustard unless it has a good outdoor play area.

Portsmouth to le havre to reduce drive time?

That's a good idea but I think we're breaking leg 1 with an overnight stop with relatives in Southend, so Dover/Folkestone makes most sense.

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#66 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 03:39:45 pm
When we did this a couple of years ago we got the kids bathed and in PJ's then drove to a service station hotel (Days Inn) near Dover. This was easy as the kids and wife fell asleep and it meant the drive could be done in one hit, also being late on a Friday evening the traffic was ok. We arrived early hours of the morning and just crashed for a few hours.

We then got a morning ferry, drove a couple of hours (timing it with the little ones morning nap). I think we stopped somewhere around Compiengne for a lazy lunch then continued via Meuex and Melun on the minor roads not the motorway. This does add half an hour to the journey (according to Google maps) however i find it way less stressful as it totally aviods Paris. It also means that you can stop in one of the villages/forests if you feel like it and it is generally less boring than the French motorways.

Overall doing it this way the journey was nowhere near as bad as i expected it to be! In fact i think i managed to grab an hour to do an easy circuit, as it was going dark, on the Saturday after checking in to the accomodation!

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#67 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 04:44:41 pm
Saint Omer is an interesting town - there's a good sized public gardens to run around
not very far along your route though

Ballsofcottonwool

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#68 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 04:48:41 pm
We drove from Aberdeen to Font twice with my kids pre-covid. We did it in 2 days stopping overnight at my parents in Bedfordshire. The drive through England was by far the worst part of the journey. The drive from Calais to Font was a breeze, the aires have plenty of space for kids to run around, better playparks and often short walking circuits. The closer you get to Paris the more likely they'll get to  something exciting like the car in front getting pulled over by the gendarmes and getting searched at gunpoint.

highrepute

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#69 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 06:28:01 pm
Taking the Chunnel knocks at least 1hr 30 off the journey no? often more because you can just drive straight on to the next train.

Bradders

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#70 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 06:29:37 pm
the ferry will be really rough

Last couple of times I've taken the channel tunnel and won't be going back to the ferry! So much quicker, tends to be pretty quiet on a later crossing, obviously no issue with rough seas (not that the channel is ever that rough but still), etc. I think it was more expensive but not prohibitively so and easily worth it for the time saving.

I've never thought of the French side of the journey as being difficult at all tbh, although maybe that's because by that point your psyched to get there and climb! Empty motorways and higher speed limits, easy! Just make sure your route doesn't go too close to Paris.

Will Hunt

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#71 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 06:59:01 pm
Ah, yes, but the ferry is an exciting diversion for the kids in its own right isn't it? In the tunnel you're trapped, seated, in a metal box inside another metal box.

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#72 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 07:02:02 pm
We usually stop and get the jetboil out at the Aire de Couer des Hautes France on the A1 just south of Assevillers. It’s about 2 hours from Calais, 2.15 hours to Font.

Eurotunnel is civilised and a little quicker than the ferry. The lad enjoyed going on the ferry  from 3-9 years old.

Hugh

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#73 Re: Font with the Kids
January 13, 2022, 07:59:31 pm
Last time we went with our two (3 months and 6 at the time), ferry was an absolute winner. Older one loved zooming round on deck and everyone got a decent break from driving.

Stopped (I think) at the same aire Duncan suggests for some grub, pretty straightforward drive otherwise (bar the wailing for the last 20 mins :blink:).

SA Chris

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#74 Re: Font with the Kids
January 14, 2022, 08:21:41 am
Just make sure your route doesn't go too close to Paris.

I made that mistake, first time driving on the wrong side, on my tod in my old Bedford van on the peripherique at 5pm on Friday. Took years off my life.

 

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