Peace and adventure under the canopy

Oops, I drop a cherry stone and it falls between the wooden planks that make up the terrace floor, then disappears way, way down towards the ground. I watch it go, marvelling at how far it has to travel, before I lose sight of it and look back up at my sons, one sitting in a comfortable chair, the other on a large branch. We are eating lunch 13 metres up an oak tree in the Ardennes forest in north-east France.

The Ardennes has no shortage of trees - 30 per cent of the region is covered in forest. In the north, where we are staying, nearly two-thirds of the land is tree-covered. And it is very peaceful. Even at the height of summer there are few tourists and even fewer foreigners. If you like your France uncrowded, unhurried and thoroughly French, this is a great place to be.

To reach the tree house we have climbed a ladder up the trunk of another tree and then crossed an uphill bouncy rope-bridge, an experience that delighted the boys and left my husband white-faced and hyperventilating. We hauled our belongings up after us on a rope pulley and settled into our private tree top. Even my husband is now enjoying his lunch. Our tree house consists of one large room with a double bed flanked by windows so you can watch the sunrise without getting up.

Even inside the house you feel enveloped by the tree and it is exceptionally light - fortunate given that there is no electricity. A torch and two large candles are provided for use during the summer; a wood-burning stove is supplied in winter. Two foam chairs pull out to make additional mattresses and there is a small table and two stools. Everything is made of warm wood, even the loo (which is doorless, so you had better know your cohabitees quite well). There is no water (beyond what you hoist up), which may be why it is rented out a single night at a time. The loo is "flushed" by shovelling in some fragrant wood shavings. This is tree-top life au naturel - except that a proper petit dejeuner of croissant, bread and hot chocolate is delivered at 8.30am to the bottom of the pulley.

Unfortunately, the meteo has put paid to our plans for such a breakfast. The weather forecasters predict overnight storms. This rare occurrence means that we cannot sleep here, in case lightning strikes. Our younger son is particularly disappointed - but at least this shows that the owners put the safety of their guests first.

By July, there will be three tree houses, one of them for just two people, a full 18 metres off the ground. For now, though, we have our tree house for the day. Outside on the terrace, we really are in the arms of the tree. A large branch runs along the side of the house providing an extra seat at the al fresco table. To one side lies a sunny panorama of rolling green countryside, to the other the leafy mass of forest. All is calm. The only sound is the gentle buzz of a zip wire and the occasional distant squeal from an adventurer revelling in the forest's infrastructure.

The tree house is on the edge of a new adventure park: Le Chêne Perche ("the Perched Oak"). The park has six "tree-top trails" - two easier, lower-level ones for younger children (110-139cm tall), and four for older kids and adults (140cm-plus).

There are also bikes to hire, and a ground-level nature walk where you can learn more about the local trees and their historical uses. So after lunch we descend and head off to explore the rest of the forest. My husband has had enough of heights, but Clement, the creator of the park, kits the rest of us out with karabiners to clip ourselves to the safety wires. Luke, 13, leads the way up ladders, onto platforms, along nets and through the air on Tarzan ropes.

Another new park has opened at Fumay in the far north of the region with the longest - and fastest - zip wire in France (far longer and faster than anything in Britain).

We promise the boys we are heading that way, but insist on taking in a few other things first. The Ardennes is full of surprises: Sedan Fort is the largest castle in Europe, set out on seven levels. There is an audio guide in English but the boys preferred to wander and wonder. At ground level lies a rock room dating from the 1420s, with bow slits to fire at the enemy's feet; high above is a stone sentry box jutting vertiginously from the top of one of four huge bastions with views along two curtain walls and right across the town.

In the summer there are regular jousting shows - with mounted knights riding at each other in mock combat. Better still, you can sleep within the castle walls. One side of the fort has been converted into a hotel, in which we later stayed. Our room opened directly onto the top of the vast 16th-century ramparts.

And so to Fumay and Aventure Parc Terraltitude, where we arrive by boat across the river Meuse with the zip wire way up above our heads.

This park has bigger treetop trails (and protective overalls, gloves and an English safety video) and a bungee jump tower. That Mega-zip wire is 1,150 metres long, and whizzes you across the valley at a speed of 100km/h. This information alone is enough to ensure I want none of it and that Daniel (aged 16) definitely does.

The well-engineered braking system at the finish is conveniently adjacent to the snack bar. From here, I can look up along the wire and see in the far distance the tiny dots on a platform on the opposite hillside that include both my sons preparing for the off.

While I try to smother maternal nerves, they are donning helmet and goggles before being attached to the equipment and launched down the wire. Daniel's expletive as he steps off the finishing platform indicates that he has very much enjoyed it.

There are, of course, less extreme ways to enjoy the Ardennes forests. Walking and cycling trails abound, and canoes can be hired along the Meuse and Semoy rivers. We spent an extremely pleasant hour or so meandering our way in a canoe and kayaks down a 5.5km stretch of the Semoy. On one side, the forest rose impressively above us; on the other, we floated past green fields and wild flowers. But a visit to the Ardennes truly hits the heights when you've got a tree house all of your own.

TRAVELLER'S GUIDE

Getting there

The writer and her family travelled as a guest of the Ardennes tourist office (00 33 810 81 09 75; www.ardennes.com/uk) and Rail Europe (0870 830 4862; www.raileurope.co.uk). Return fares from London St Pancras via Paris or Lille to Charleville-Mezieres start at £79. From the eastern Channel ports(Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk) the drive takes around three hours.

Staying there

Tree house: Le Chêne Perche, Domaine de la Venerie, Signy L'Abbaye (00 33 679 73 52 73; www.lecheneperche.com). Basic rate ¤75 (£62.50) for two people, ¤15 (£12.50) for each additional person, including breakfast. It is closed from January to March. The adventure park opens from April to October, then by arrangement for groups of six or more. The children's trails cost ¤8 (£6.66) per person. Longer trails cost ¤13 (£10.80) for under-14s, on larger trails, ¤16 (£13) for adults. Hotel le Château Fort de Sedan (00 33 324 26 11 00; www.hotelfp-sedan.com) from ¤69 (£57.50) per room (standard double) to ¤189 (£157) (best family suite). Breakfast ¤12 (£10) per person.

Visiting there

Aventure Parc Terraltitude, Fumay (00 33 810 810 975; www.aventure-parc.fr/fumay); Open daily 22 March-2 November. The Mega-zip wire requires participants to weigh at least 35kg but no more than 120kg. The cost is ¤23 (£19); zip wire plus Treetop trails ¤35 (£29).

Sedan Fort (00 33 324 27 73 73; www.sedan-bouillon.com) opens daily July/August 10am-6pm, April-June and all school holidays and weekends 10am-12pm/1.30pm-6pm, Sept-Mar, Tues-Fri 1.30pm-6pm. Adults ¤6.90 (£5.75) and children ¤4.60 (£3.30).

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