Winning combination

Michael Vaughan, aged 36, is former captain of the Yorkshire and England cricket teams, captaining England in 2005 when they regained the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

He is currently a commentator for BBC Test Match Special and Channel Five’s Cricket on Five television highlights package.

Michael is a patron of The Children’s Hospital Charity and is trekking on the Great Wall of China this month to raise money for the Children’s Hospital.

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He lives in Derbyshire with his wife, Nicola, and three children, Tallulah, Archie and Jemima.

Chatsworth

It’s our favourite place in the whole world and only 20 minutes’ walk from our house. With a stunning house and gardens, it has a special place in our hearts because we had our wedding reception there.

We had the most amazing day in the most amazing setting!

Since then we have walked our dogs around there, taught our children to ride their bikes and have had various birthday picnics in the grounds. It really is like our extended back garden!

I was president of the Chatsworth County Fair last weekend, which was a real honour.

Sheffield Children’s Hospital

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My wife worked here for many years in its finance department and I am a patron of the Children’s Hospital Charity. I think it is remarkable how the hospital has grown and expanded in the last 100 years and how many children have benefited from its excellent care.

I am really excited to be trekking on the Great Wall of China Trek to raise money for The Children’s Hospital Charity.

Having met some of the bravest, most courageous children I know at the hospital, I am really motivated to raise as much money as possible.

As a dad, I have also seen first hand the amazing work of the dedicated staff at the hospital when my son needed treatment for a chest infection.

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To know I have this very special hospital on my doorstep if my kids ever need it again is extremely reassuring.

I think anyone who has children and lives in Sheffield and the surrounding areas should feel very proud to have this fantastic institution in the city, one of only four dedicated children’s hospital NHS trusts in the country. (Michael’s fundraising can be supported via www.justgiving.com/m-p-vaughan or text “TCHC01” with an amount £1, £2, £3, £5 or £10 to 70070).

Rowleys restaurant in Baslow

This is a two-minute walk from our house and a great place for some adult time when I come home from my travels. Lovely food, a great atmosphere and they’re really accommodating – headed up by a great manager, Alistair.

They are helping out with the fundraising for the China trek challenge by adding an additional, voluntary £1 donation on every bill up to the trek.

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The road is a one-stop shop and great during the day and at night. There are loads of good shops and great places to eat.

A few of my favourites are Nonna’s (owner Gian is a great guy and gives so much support to so many charitable causes and they have fantastic food and wine!), Uncle Sam’s (the cheese sauce is fantastic and Nic used to work there as a waitress in her student days) and Spoilt for Choice (they have a great range of sandwiches).

Endcliffe Park

A lovely green space close to the city centre. The kids love the new fantastic playground. It’s a great park with the playground, cafe and all the wooded areas.

The kids love jumping across the stream on the stepping stones and knocking a football around on the big field and we always bump into someone we know there.

Baslow Cricket Club

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My little boy plays here and is doing really well at the sport.

There are some fantastic dedicated coaches who really encourage the children.

Abbeydale Cricket Club

This is where I spent a lot of my time as a young boy. It has a thriving cricket academy. I spent most of my free time as a teenager down at the club and it’s fantastic to see the all the junior and youth teams doing well down there now. The coaches are great and it’s really good to see the enthusiasm for cricket.

Sheffield Wednesday Football Ground

SWFC are my home team and I like to go and see them play when I can but I don’t get to go as often as I would like.

Starbucks

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My wife was addicted to the place when she was pregnant with our youngest little girl. I picked her and our daughter up from the Jessop hospital and had strict instructions to bring with me a Starbucks takeaway!