UKC

My wonderful little boy has finally persuaded us of the merits to be had in taking him to the Lakes this hols, he has been 'suggesting' this since Xmas when he was glued to the Wainright prog that the delightful Julia Bradbury presented.
Of course, a lake or valley isn't what he considers 'the lakes'. He wants mountain tops and great views! (Bonus)

Anyone have any suggestions of how to break him in gently, I don't want to put him off.

One other question- where can I kit out a three year old- most places don't go that small!

Thanks fellas, much appreciated!

In reply to Tree:

Walks around Loughrigg and Loughrigg Terrace are not a bad start. Most of the big shops in places like Ambleside do kids stuff.

Go for lighter boots - Lily's first boots were like scaled down adult boots and that was a mistake. On small feet they are disproportionately stiff and clunky. Get them on the large side or they will be out of them in 4 months !

In reply to Tree: many places in Ambleside will cater for that size. or they did when i was 3.

as for where to start.... Grizedale was my starting point, but htere are more exciting points.

In reply to GrahamD:


I still have photos of me with 3 pairs of THICK socks on to make my first pair fit! Floresent Pink and Yellow boot socks of my dad, that were knee high's on me!

In reply to GrahamD: Yeah, I'd thought Loughrigg looked good! Glad to hear someone else say it too!

Ta for the advice on stiff boots- will do!

In reply to Little Brew: Grizedale seems good too, I know he'd enjoy the feature trails too!

There's a kids outdoor shop in Ambleside, near Daisy's cafe, that's owned by the Climbers Shop (IIRC).

How about Castle Rock in Borrowdale? It's a kid's sized real mountain. In addition, if you sniff around on the summit you can find where Julia Bradbury actually sat.

In reply to Little Brew: I think you should post that pic, it's making me smile just thinking about it. Okay, I'm pmsl...

In reply to Jim Lancs: I'll check it out, ta. Funny how much you don't see when you aren't looking for it!

Castle Rock would be new for me too. He'd like seeing the places he saw on TV. I hope you weren't being coarse in your choice of words!

In reply to Tree:

My Dad and I took my son there when he was 3 years old, he coped admirably. We finished off at the bottom by playing in the river. However he isn't a keen walker always needing to be pushed, mentally and physically.
Having said that I can remember moaning on some hill walks in the Lakes and my Dad carrying me or pushing me up the Hill, but I love walking now.

In reply to Tree: My daughter is nearly 3 and we had a good 2 week break in the Lakes. Found a cracking campsite and took her up Cats Bells and Castle Crag, both near Derwent Water - perfect for little feet as there is so much to see and do on the way.

We also have a toddler carrier so carried her up some bigger hills - Skiddaw, Haystacks but as she wasn't moving she did get really cold.

We kitted her out in regatta waterproof with removable fleece and a full on internet purchased snow-suit for the big days out (£35). I wasn't prepared to pay out for hiking boots so a couple of pairs of thick socks and wellies did the trick. Would recommend paying out for waterproof hiking boots if he's walking as small feet are easily damaged by bad footwear. Millets (sorry) was the only place that did semi-decent stuff for a 3-4 year old.

Top tips - go really slow, allow lots of breaks, remember for them it's not about getting to the top of a windy, wet summit - it's about enjoying the journey. Remember kiddies have an attention span of one minute per year of their life so it could be boring for him.

Involve him as much as possible with spotting nice rocks, animals, get him his own camera? mark the route up with coloured string so he can 'lead the way' back down? Just try to think of lots of things to keep him excited and interested. Don't be disappointed if it's too much for him (he is only 3!)

I think Trail magazine had an article this month on taking small children up into the hills.

Good luck!

In reply to Tree: Try Beacon Fell at the bottom end of Coniston, easy walk superb views and a brilliant little summit, save it for a clear day to get the best of views.

In reply to Tree:
We took our three year old lad (and one year old and two dogs) up Catbells. He was mad for it as Mrs Tiggywinkle (Beartrix Potter) lives there.

You can leave it at one summit or go over the saddle to the proper summit, which is a bit more rugged, but still safe. Nice views all the way up and parking on the road at the bottom. Start early and take lots of picnic snacks for frequent stops. The return journey can be made more exciting by a trip back to Keswick on one of the boats that do a ferry over the lake.

Waterproofs are all that you'll need. He'll probably not be yomping miles through bogs so expensive boots may be overkill. A camera and binoculars for him to play with might add to the fun.

In reply to AnnaSpanna: Might have to pick up Trail it seems. Great ideas there, thank you- especially the marking the trail (I wonder if the Kielder Trail Reavers would loan me some trail marking gear?)

In reply to Tree:
Jack Wolfskin do some nice childrens gear, try Cunninghams in Ambleside. The thing not to skimp on are mitts, won`t matter in August but as you get into winter and go higher it will, we found Ski ranges good value.

In reply to Tree: All I can say is I hope our unborn does this to us in 3 yrs time - judging by the way it kicks its mum it may just!

Orrest Head was my first Wainwright and was suitably inspiring to keep me coming back for 25+yrs. Helm Crag is also really cool because of the Lion and the Lamb on the top - but obviously a much harder walk.

It's the latest Summit magazine which has a good article by (I think) Louise Thomas about walking with kids.

Oh, Cathedral Caverns I thought was pretty amazing as a kid.

In reply to Tree:

This may be useful as well;
http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/347/title/rocky-rambler-s...

http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/index/visiting/outdoors/walkingwithchildren...

In reply to Stig: Haven't seen the last issue of Summit yet, I'll keep a look out for it, ta!

Thanks for all the thoughts and info guys!

In reply to Tree: If you want somewhere in the North Lakes the Rannerdale Knotts was my daughters first "proper, scrambly" mountain. Up the steep side then along the ridge to the ice cream shop at the farm in Buttermere. Ace

In reply to Tree:

A friends little boy is 4 and we took him out in the Black Mountains for a day of walking not to long ago. We found the following handy -

http://www.snowandrock.com/Department/Junior/Packs/Skeeter+Camelbak+CBK0041...
http://www.toysarcade.com/toy_50002084

& he had an old walkie talkie in his pocket while we had the others. He absolutely loved it & had a great time pretending to be a proper mountaineer! We just took an old heavy duty dog lead as well which went on the packs "handle/loop" on the top when needed so we could hold on to him in tricky areas, but he still had his hands free for balance/scrambling.

we all had a great time, took it easy, had loads of snacks & concentrated on finding bugs & spotting birds. We carried 2 all in 1 suits along & he used both by the end of the day. Also left a spare tracksuit in the car & changed him into that when we got back so he could happily fall asleep in it on the drive back. His mom's Swedish so he already has nice all weather sheepskin lined shoes from there. I think I had more fun walking with him than I usually do with one of his parents!

In reply to Tree: millets is best for kids gear. Also, Cat Bells is by far the easiest to start on but maybe not the most interesting, but i'm sure a 3 year old would love it

In reply to Tree: We started all 3 our children walking at the age of 3 or 4. The youngest walked up ben nevis at the age of 7. To incentivise the walks we have found geocaching a great way to keep kids interested in walking up hulking great hills.

Stick to woodland trails and low hills at first, pack sweets and lots to drink (kids hydration pack ?)

Cheap millets water proofs are ideal and we always buy kids walking boots for them we find the miendl ones ideal (£30 a pair) . Dont worry about the cost as you can sell them on ebay for about 2/3 the value when they outgrow them and if you sell the walking socks at the same time its almost cost free.