UKH

Wild camping is one of the most rewarding things you can do in the hills, says Keri Wallace, and doubly so with children. But combine tents, weather, midges and small people, and it's not always plain sailing. Here are her lessons for smoother family camping adventures.

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In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

This has nothing to do with my kids.
We spent the fist holiday of the fist one sleeping in the car in the dolomites, with one of us climbing with the rest of the friend and the other taking care of the child, switching days.

There was never sleeping issues: not light or door that has to be set a certain way.
We have been around in many places with different tents, when it was cold and when it was hot. With one or two kids, and they always enyoied it as much as we did.

In reply to Moreno Vrancich:

Good for you. 

It may surprise you to learn that parenting is a challenge for the rest of us 😂 😉 

In reply to Moreno Vrancich:

My kids don't have an issue sleeping either, it's just the getting to sleep which is problematic. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles: this is a brilliant article ,thank you. I’ve just started the journey with my two wee ones with a back garden camp out  and it was horrific. The sleep deprivation from toddlerhood is still too fresh! However, reads like this, as a solo camping parent (my wife’s canvas days are done), fill me with hope. Thanks for sharing  

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

When I was a child I struggled sleeping in tents because there was so much light. I got rid of that problem as an adult, but these days I pretty much always camp in a blackout tent, which I massively recommend to anyone, but might be especially helpful for children? Disclaimer, I don't have children, so might be talking rubbish...

In reply to tich_mcg:

I'm also a solo camping parent as my husband declares sleeping bags are too small for him. My tips are: I bought a double sleeping bag and my daughter and I share it which is great. Son is in a normal bag. We don't bother with sleeping mats for them (just me) and travel as light as possible. We eat at the pub and take picnics & cakes. Often don't bother with much more than a small stove for a brew. We used to take a bucket so I didn't need to leave one asleep to take the other to the loo. Our rule is that children have to do the washing up when camping.

They are older now and still love a weekend camping. Sometimes it feels like we don't achieve much except short walks & cream teas & a bit of paddling but they love the freedom so I would say persevere if you can.

We camped in the garden a lot during covid, was also horrific, our garden is a 10% slope and the only flat ish part is furthest from the house up a path of limestone blocks which are polished & slippy when wet. Quickly got over carrying all the stuff up & down.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

When my kids each turned 5 (now 11 and 9) we made a big deal of having a 'right of passage' type expedition to get them really keen on hiking/camping. It was basically a 3 mile hike in the evening after dinner, to stop in a secret spot for camping, hot chocolate/marshmallows and a lovely view of the sunset. Get up early for breakfast and then just another 3 miles to get picked up by the wife in a small village where a good selection of well deserved ice-creams were available! Thus, my main tip is to just keep it super simple to start with, and build up their resilience slowly. What might only seem like a short walk to you will seem like the biggest adventure ever to them!

My kids absolutely love camping (not that they had a choice really) whether we are canoe camping or doing it by foot, (or even at a commercial campsite), and over the years we've found kit that works and doesn't work. During lockdown we did a day or three camping in the garden where we weren't allowed in the house unless it was for toileting. This year we are planning our first 'double-overnighter' so they can experience carrying a bit more stuff and being out for a whole day. It works out well as I have to carry the lions share of the kit which slows me down, and my wife fills her pockets with sweets and brushes up on her 'distraction songs' for when the youngest is finding it a bit tough.

Another tip is to plan your route carefully. Make sure there are lots of points of interest along the way - waterfalls, swimming holes, flat areas to run around, caves, minor summits etc. Just ploughing up a steep track to reach a summit might be your idea of a good day out, but perhaps not for the young'ns. 

All in all, it's the happiest of times for us as a family. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Don't!

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

We have been on quite a few wild camping trips with our one and a half year old now. We love it but are a bit apprehensive about how doable it will be with a second one due. We don’t really want to buy a load of lightweight kit but are thinking about how we can get the weight of our sleeping stuff down in particular and have toyed with the idea of a double sleeping bag.

Had problems with sleep camping in the early days but now it can be a pain to get her to sleep but once she is she generally sleeps for longer than at home as she can be cuddled back to sleep in the mornings. 

We only go overnight to reduce the food needed to evening meal and breakfast but know others who have gone properly backpacking with their baby and have actually met another couple out in Eskdale with their toddler. The article makes a lot of good points. I would add that going with a friend can help, our toddler is happier in the carrier when her friend is in her’s too. However I think by far the most important thing is mindset. There is a lot of doom and gloom around parenthood (see previous post!) and we are very lucky to be around friends who are all keen to keep doing outdoor activities (walking,climbing,cycle touring) with their children right from infancy. I think associating as much as possible with positive, psyched families and being positive and psyched yourself is more important than anything. As long as you’re keen to make it happen there is no reason to give up outdoor activities on having kids, in fact parental leave is an absolute gift for getting out on adventurers.