The Hiking Household with Laura and Family

The Hiking Household

with Laura and Family

Summer is fast approaching and for many families the thought of filling the summer holidays with fun day trips can become quite stressful, especially given the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. With many of our usual activities restricted this could be the summer to enjoy staying local and exploring some hidden gems. Having four children all such young ages the summer holidays can get expensive, crowded and very stressful at times which is why I like to spend most of our time outside – free, easy and accessible! What more do families need?

Finding quiet, local areas has been a priority of mine recently in preparation of the summer visitors that I expect will flock to our beautiful countryside this summer, who can really blame them? At a time where travel is strongly not advised we have had to make the most of what we have on our doorstep and it has opened up my eyes to just how fortunate we are to have access to such wonderful places. Below I have listed a few walks that I think could be of interest to many this summer, especially those with children. • Lanty’s Tarn: A wonderfully quiet walk leading to a small tarn. There is a car park at the bottom of this walk in the village of Glenridding, 13 miles south west of

Penrith, postcode CA11 0PD. The walk itself isn’t pram accessible and can be steep in sections but the walk is oh so worth it! When you reach the tarn it really has a mystical feel about it. I hope you all enjoy searching for this magical tarn as much as my family do! • Brothers Water: Cow Bridge car park, postcode

CA11 0NZ. My children absolutely adore this walk! The route takes you along the shoreline of

Brothers Water and the level terrain makes this walk extremely accessible - the path is wide and safe and is manageable with a single, or double, pram. This walk also allows the option when visiting to stay close to the shoreline and let the children spend less time walking and more time playing in the water, climbing and exploring the mini waterfalls. Always a safe option if you aren’t sure your children will walk but

you would still like like to enjoy the great outdoors. • Cliburn Moss Nature Reserve: Situated approximately five miles South East of Penrith, there is also free parking at the Nature Reserve. The track is a mixture of muddy paths and boardwalks, during summer months and the ground is harder this walk is pram accessible. There is so much to explore within this nature reserve - swamps, dens, bridges and plenty more! This is a very easy, short and sheltered walk for little legs – a lovely way to fill a summer morning. • Rydal Caves: Rydal Pelter Bridge Car Park, postcode

LA22 9LR. This walk is popular with tourists and can get slightly busy, although it is a firm favourite of my children’s and we cannot manage the summer without taking a visit. However busy the car park seems the walk itself is always very quiet as there are many walks that can be taken from the car park.

The caves can offer shelter from the summer sun, or the traditional rain showers that we are all so use to in August! A key highlight for this walk is that, while the caves are not accessible with a pram, the short walk from the car park to Rydal Water is accessible and this walk then becomes far more accessible for all – maybe even allowing you to bring grandparents along so they are able to watch their grandchildren play in the water for a few hours.

Further information about the walks mentioned in this article, along with many others, are able to be accessed from the website www.thehikinghousehold.com. The website provides a detailed map of each walk as well as postcodes, car parking facilities and what is on offer during the walk – for example toilets and café options. I hope that you are able to use this tool to help you to access our fantastic local areas this summer.