Segway, stay on a boat, slide down a zipwire

The French Ardennes has yet another new, and novel, attraction available to its visitors for 2013. Arden'gyropode, was the first to introduce The Segway to the region describing it as an easy, fun, quiet and ecological way for anyone aged 8-to-80 to go a long way in a short time. Following an induction lasting 20 minutes, holiday makers can now explore the paths of the Mohron Valley, the cycle paths of the "Trans' Ardennes" and, even, (with a fully qualified guide) some of the villages in the northern-most part of the French Ardennes. Price range from just 10 Euros per person for a 20 minutes induction, to 25 Euros for an hour on the pathways, to 30 Euros for the hourand-a-half tour with a guide. Further information can be found at www.arden-gyropode.fr. The same, fun pastime is on also offer at Les Vieilles Forges Forest Adventure Park, where holiday makers can scoot around the countryside at speeds of up to 24kph! For more details, visit www.ardennes-terre-aventures.com. An area of France not readily familiar to most British holidaymakers, The French Ardennes is nevertheless one of the greatest of all of Frances playgrounds, boasting thickly wooded forests, dramatic valleys, fantastic scenery and a maze of well-marked footpaths and cycle-ways. One of its biggest offers of all to holiday makers is the Voie verte Trans-Ardennes (Trans-Ardennes Green Track), which runs uninterrupted for 80 kilometres - from Charleville-Mzieres in the south, to Givet on the Belgian border in the north - and is now neatly packaged within the pages of a new flipchart-style booklet. More importantly still, being entirely traffic-free, it provides walkers, cyclists, horse riders and even skaters with more than 80km of wellmarked and secure pathways. Several new trails for both walkers and cyclists have been introduced in both the Crtes Prardennaises and Trois Cantons Country for 2013. The former offers a total of 650km of trails to its visitors; while the Trois Cantons Country features 323km of walking trails spread over 37 themes. And for anyone keen on spending as much time in the great outdoors, The French Ardennes now offers a B&B with a difference - the Pniche Thor is a boat which has been equipped to host seven guests in three rooms: one en suite double, one en suite twin, and a third room with three single beds. more over

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Normally moored in Charleville-Mzires harbour, it also boasts a reading room, a large dining room/kitchen with breakfast bar, and two External terraces. Bed and breakfast including taxes starts from 35 Euros per person. Evening meals are also available. For further information, visit www.penichethor.eu. The French Ardennes also boasts several amazing adventure parks. As well as Les Vieilles Forges Forest Adventure Park(www.ardennesterre-aventures.com), which offers 7 trails, 20 zipwires, a climbing wall, 4 bungee trampolines, a Segway experience, and a large adventure garden, the Chne Perch park in Signy-lAbbaye combines a tree-top activity park, with the chance to spend the night in one of its tree houses - located at 60, 50 and 40 feet above the forest floor (www.lecheneperche.com/EN). And The Adventure Park TerrAltitude, in Fumay, has one of the highest, longest and fastest zip wires in the whole of Europe: http://www.terraltitude.com/en/. Copies of the Discovery Guide to the French Ardennes, meanwhile, are available now by telephoning +33 (0) 324 56 06 08, or by emailing info@ardennes.com. For further information, visit www.ardennes.com. Ends For press information, contact: Djamila Daoud TEL: +33 (0) 3 24 56 67 77 E-MAIL: daoud@ardennes.com or, Ian Weightman TEL: 01782-680963 | E-MAIL: ian.iwms@virgin.net