Ever had one of those days when you’ve done so much that the morning feels like yesterday? Today was one of those days.

After a lazy morning of coffee in bed (thanks Andy) and fixing E’s breaks on her bike, and armed with a smothering of Avon so Soft and an extra topping of Deet, we cycled to the local village to meet our friends Matt and Cheryl and their daughters, who happened to be in the area too. The village is two miles away down a very pleasant cycle track along a disused railway line. It was blissfully flat and smooth and we got to see our first red squirrel! From the village we headed uphill to the visitor centre where there are a multitude of walking trails through Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. The forest is stunning with huge trees, waterfalls and is very family friendly with extra activities to entertain kids (hammocks, play spaces, quizzes). We opted for the longest trail - a 4 mile loop along the Lime Craig trail to a summit with stunning views across the Trossachs.

The trail heads steadily uphill through woodland along an easy gravel track. Along the way the trees are covered in moss and there’s beautiful wild flowers, waterfalls and waterways. At the top, once past the tree line, the sides are carpeted with beautiful heather. From the summit you can see surrounding mountains and Loch Drunkie.

After the walk, we headed back to the village to the local bike park - a little area where you can practice your MTB skills. There’s something for everyone from blue trails to skating down rocks on the black trail. Oliver was enjoying challenging himself on the Orange skills route whilst Elizabeth was gaining more and more cycling confidence on the blue trail. Sadly it all came to an end when Oliver lost a pedal. We think it’s the result of a crash he had a couple of days ago in the Lake District campsite. He had to cycle home with one pedal - amazingly he managed it! We’re hoping to find a bike shop tomorrow to get it fixed.

We got to go to the pub for supper before heading back which was delicious. Although the kids had a huge helping of sticky toffee pudding so it was a while before they finally went to sleep.