Do you reckon in this day and age it would be feasible to replace your car with a horse and trap?

[flashingnose]

Just wondering really. Maybe not in an inner city but anywhere else? Do you reckon it would get nicked from outside the shops?

TooTicky, how many kids do you have? How old are they?

A friend of mine had a Dutch model that could carry four kids, and she was selling it before moving away, but wanted £900 - I expect they're even pricier new.

If you search for "Filibus" and "Filibak", you can see the bikes I've seen.

Checked out that link NQC - how much??

Most of my journeys are within a 6 mile radius - if I needed a to make a longer journey, I'd hire a car or take a cab. I saw a piece on the TV a while back about car hire in cities where you join a scheme and then book them out for a few hours as needed & the cars are kept in special bays dotted around the place. Seemed like a good idea to me.

We have all got so used to the convenience of cars but we really seem to be paying through the nose for them (in more ways than one). Of course, in an ideal world, there would be cycle lanes everywhere, little sprinter buses criss-crossing all areas on a regular basis, trains that don't resemble sardine cans and proper school buses for all. But that obviously isn't going to happen any time soon.

One day we might be forced to change from cars and it might happen suddenly! The kids would love it though! Then there would always be the people with the big fancy brand shiney new cart with a roof. We would all have to carry big giant pooper scoopers and a spade.

Yeah, big fancy bikes aren't cheap.

My bike was a lot cheaper, and I take two kids on it. Thanks to traffic etc, it's tricky to get DS1 off onto his own bike, as I worry about drivers etc.

Carshare schemes are growing in popularity. We keep meaning to join one, but we have an informal car share with a neighbour anyway.

I think I could swap my car with a horse and trap easily! Most of the journeys I do are fairly local. I do live in London though, so maybe there would be some security tpype issues though!

Would a horse and trap be subject to the Congestion Charge?

I'll ask Ken

NQC, my kidsare 10, 7, nearly 5 and 1 - I certainly couldn't afford £900 though! Do you know where I can see pictures? I can't imagine what they must look like!

Sorry, didn't read your next post

Oh, I'd probably put the 10-year-old and the 7-year-old on their own bikes - they're big enough to bike a good distance. You can have the nearly-5 year old on a trailgator sort of thing, and the one year old can go on a WeeRide seat on the front. (I have a trailgator and WeeRide for my two.)

In the country, you can ride side by side, so I'd put the kids on the outside, and you on the inside (near oncoming traffic), and ride along that way.

Blu, I think you should keep well away from anything to do with horses at the moment!