That dream of cycling away via the Danube

What's the furthest you've ever cycled? And could you go further? Words from Nicola Baird  (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Bikes with unusual loads, but the paniers have all sorts of potential
for a long journey.

About 10 years after I left university a guy in the year above had a book published about cycling across Chile, Argentina and Bolivia to raise funds for the Leukaemia Reseach Fund. I was so impressed that even another 20 years on, during a recent book clear out I decided to keep his book on my shelves. This was clearly a man who knew something secret about life and tenacity. The trail to Titicaca by Rupert Attlee is a good read too.

Long distance journeys have always been popular. It's a challenging way to grow up, get away from the old you, fit into your skin, explore etc. We all know travel's attraction dating right back to Odysseus (the Greek who gave us the wonderful word odyssey).

Nowadays long distance travel is often more about taking a holiday to push yourself because (good) experiences are more important than possessions. I pretty much agree with that sentiment (especially if it involves low carbon travel and doesn't begin and end with a plane flight), except somehow I've never managed to cycle more than 50 miles in one day. But, I remember that journey with pride as I managed to get from London to Oxford in aid of charity. It was a total killer and at the celebration gig afterwards with the exuberant Bhundu Boys (from Zimbabwe) playing I crashed out asleep. Clearly I wasn't bicycle honed. And yet I've cycled almost every day since I was 16 years old at sixth form, and love the way a bicycle offers freedom and speedy journeys.

No surprise then that I like to read about bike journeys. At the start of 2017 I was hooked by Tim Moore's latest book The Cyclist Who Went Out In the Cold. Tim has a serious track record at pushing himself to do slightly daft - aka challenging - routes. This time he cycles 6,000 miles along the route of the old Cold War front on a tiny-wheeled, two-geared East German-made shopping bike (a MIFA 900). And he starts the journey in the Arctic Circle, in winter: you couldn't make his stories up. It's an inspiring read, often funny and good for your Cold War knowledge (well it's helped mine)...

When you see a cycle book and think
that could be me out there...

The perseverance travel bug kicks in fast.

Inspired by Tim Moore's cycle journeys up the Alps, and along historic borders I'm now looking closely at The Danube Cycleway (volume 2), published by long distance travel guide specialists Cicerone, thinking could I? Could I get on my bike and pedal from Budapest to the Black Sea (this is the end part of Europe's second longest river)?

My guidebook isn't dog-eared yet, but I've read a few of the recommended stages and feel it's possible. I think it helps having a cyclist in glasses gracing the front cover who looks rather like a government ad to get more women active ("still slow, still lapping the couch"). That woman could be me. Or it could be me when I've got just a few less childcare responsibilities. Unless of course I can talk my youngest teenager into joining me...

The Danube Cycleway (Volume 1 and 2) are extremely detailed, but not that huge. Which is why they recommend taking additional more detailed maps for Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Romania and provide info about where to find those formal maps. I feel the Cicerone approach really works for an armchair traveller (who might well become the real thing) - as it helps you imagine (and potentially plan) every detail from what to wear to how to get your bike to the starting point. There are some great tables which show the mileage, likely timings, location of cycle shops and accommodation. This kind of info isn't in Tim Moore's book - it makes his ability to cycle such challenging routes seem extra brilliant - but it clearly saves hours of research. It's still going to be hard work doing the route planning (eg, around weather, where to stay and language).

I have real problems looking at maps and seeing their world. Guide books make it a bit easier to imagine the terrain, people and even sunlight. Nothing beats being there, but in order to decide where to be these handy Cicerone guides take me a lot closer to a 3D imagining! And perhaps it's almost a sign that the last person to cut my hair grew up in Budapest...

More tellingly both Tim Moore's book and the Danube Cycleway make Romania look the sort of country I would adore visiting, even if Romanian dogs are clearly not keen on cyclists.

The Danube Cycleway (vol 2 from Budapest to the Black Sea) by Mike Wells (Cicerone, £16.95)

Old forests, blue skies - where am I?

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. We do this in a bid to be less polluting and tackle climate change while at the same time keeping a global outlook. The autumn bounty made me think about the blue skies, forests, plants, hearty food and fabulous wild spaces of Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Romania. Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Epping Forest lake - but on such a blue day you could be in a summery Austria if
the view had mountains (rather than clouds) and perhaps a castle atop a hill.

Just for a moment on the edge of Epping Forest which flips in and out of London and Essex I had the sense of being somewhere else - Austria maybe, by one of that country's famous lakes. Austria may boast Alpine scenery, mountains and whatnot, but in the populated valleys the plants look very similar to the ones in the UK. Golden rod and rosebay willow herb (fireweed) along the railway lines, bullrushes and reeds by the lakes, damselflies and dragonflies on the water. Plus a few crickets.

Checking fungi finds in Epping Forest. We left these.

Because Epping Forest is quite a busy place - on the morning we went there was a sponsored run for breast cancer, several Duke of Edinburgh trips, loads of kids with bikes, two girls taking it in turns to ride a little black pony, lots of small kids being introduced to the joys of holding a stick, plus the rest of us - including a huge number of dog walkers - all wanting nice coffee and ready to be tempted by breakfast, it's a good place for outdoor types who like strong coffee.

In Austria you can walk in the mountains or by a lake, thinking you are miles from anywhere and then stumble on a sweet cafe selling coffee, beer, apple streudel and ice cream. And at Chingford Plain you can do just the same at Butler's Retreat Cafe run by The Larder (and open in summer from 9am-6pm, shorter hours during the winter).

On these last sunny autumn days Epping Forest feels crowded - probably no more than popular Lipno Park in South Bohemia (the Czech Republic) with its lake and treetop platform with huge views over Sumava Forest. Epping Forest is smaller - you don't really need to dress in full hiking gear with maps, water and survival bag for a walk around it because it's broken into segments where roads cross it (and be careful as the roads here are very busy).

Autumn homemade gifts - rosehip infused vodka and crab apple/redcurrant jelly.
Both made from treasures found in Epping Forest.

To my mind East Europeans (Austria and some of its neighbours like Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Poland) always seem such capable woodsmen - able to turn anything into a feast. And in autumn London's Epping Forest offers a bounty of goodies to turn into delectable food - sloes, rosehips, crab apples, fungi and the very last of the blackberries.

In the end I made rosehip infused vodka and crab apple jelly brightened with homegrown redcurrants to give to a friend who was moving back into her home after a year away.

Rainham Marshes visitor centre is another great place for
UK wildlife spotting - we saw egrets, kestrels,
marsh frogs and loads of bullrushes.

It's fun finding unusual gifts for people - last week I passed freeze-dried mealworms (which I'd found on sale at the RSPB Bird sanctuary at Rainham Marshes) to neighbours who were having their 25th wedding anniversary. They love watching birds so it wasn't that odd a gift, the only worry was would one of the party goers accidentally think this gift was an exotic snack and tuck in?

Find an Epping Forest map, visitor centre opening hours and info here and info about Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge here.

Where do you go to admire trees?

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post looks at some very special trees you can vote for in the European Tree of the Year. But the best trees are the ones we see from our homes, schools and offices or pass when we are out and about (hence the choice of pix). Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

NB#1: Poplar in a London Park - when it's in leaf they rustle
together as if making conversation.

This week - from 21-28 February 2015 you can vote for European Tree of the Year - using this link http://www.treeoftheyear.org/Uvod.aspx. Looking at the photos on that link you can enjoy the lonely tree in Powys, Wales; the 150-year-old oak tree in the middle of a football pitch in Estonia and the UK's Major Oak - believed to have been used by Robin Hood and a gorgeous Scots Pine in Scotland.

NB#2: My cycle route into central London always takes me past this wonderful fig tree
on Amwell Street, Islington.

With the exception of the Irish entrance - a baby Cedar of Lebanon that's just 15 years old - and the Italian's predictable, but particularly ancient olive, the entrants are all tree species that are easy to see in the UK.

Tree ID is a tricky skill, but perhaps it could become your party trick?

NB#3: My family's favourite oak on Hampstead Heath
ideal for picnics, climbing, games & quiet thought.

Do you know how to recognise an oak, a horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, sycamore, black poplar or a plane tree? If so you can travel the world of trees easily in the UK taking in:

• Estonia (oak)
• Belgium (horse chestnut)
• France (sweet chestnut)
• Hungary (sycamore)
• Spain (black poplar)
• Bulgaria (plane tree)

NB#4: Silver birch liven up a city winter sunset.

The big venerables may be reasonably easy, but I find street tree ID tricky because the sort of lollipop-sized tree that survives pollarding and city pavements aren't the species that you'll find if you go down to the woods today. With one exception - the silver birch (see photo above).

NB#5: Crows nesting in an ash tree at the back of suburban garden, London.
Ash is my favourite tree to ID - you just cannot get it wrong, look for a horseshoe shaped black tip. Photo by Hedera Vetch.

Hope this post inspires you to vote via the Woodland Trust site here - or just to take a few minutes to admire at least one of the trees you pass this week. Maybe you'll end up creating your own top five trees too?