Find inspiration for all the activities you can do as a family.
Geocaching for kids – a free and easy way to stir up some adventure on your doorstep. In fact, you can have a go at geocaching anywhere in the world, but I like the fact that it’s a good activity to try when you’re feeling a bit bored or uninspired by your local environment and want a quick, mini adventure with your children.
Mum of two Sarah Logan shows how a heroic amount of determination, regular running and a much needed confidence boost from a very special charity helped her stay positive during her cancer treatment.
We tried glamping for the first time in Dorset at Featherdown glamping, and were very pleased we did. As its name suggests, it offers glamorous camping. If you like the idea of camping and getting closer to nature, but can’t face a whole week with kids, glamping is a great midway choice.
Watersports were made for the Jurassic coastline. Our trip to Dorset was the perfect opportunity to continue with part of my ‘4 adventures in 4 months with a 4 year old‘. I abandoned the idea of wild swimming as my son can’t swim yet, so probably not the best idea. However there was still plenty of choice to do some adventuring offland. We chose sailing for June and kayaking for July. Snorkelling is another option, and Kimmeridge Bay is actually a brilliant place where you can do it even if you can’t swim, as the water levels are so low.
I couldn’t find any small boats to have a go on with my son. Most operators seem to only offer sailing courses, or trips if you are already qualified. I found a few places near home which occasionally take out families for a hour or so to show them the ropes, but nothing was happening when I wanted to do it. Luckily we did find Moonfleet Adventure Sailing.
Think of an old pirate ship – big white sails, flag, ship dog, and you’ve got the Moonfleet ship! It’s very rough and ready, and a real man’s ship. We were given a brief tour, and there are no luxuries on board. Expect to shape up and chip in on here. Luckily, our son was keen and was super excited to help pull up the mighty sails and lower them down again, and even sail around some of the harbour.
We went out for the shortest time, which is two hours. It was plenty. We all went, so that included my two year old son, though I probably wouldn’t bring him again, as I spent most of the trip clinging onto him and making sure he didn’t trip over odds and sods on the deck.
Highlights of the boat according to my son was the dog and the biscuits. I’m not sure we would go again to be honest. Maybe one to save for when kids are a bit older.
Sailing a tall ship, Portland harbour
Tall ship sailing
Kayaking at Studland Bay, on the other hand, was a downright win. It was so successful, my two year old had a paddy because he wanted to have a go as well, which he did. Again, I looked for places that offered kayaking or canoeing for young kids, but the only operator I could find was Foradventure, on selected dates. They do look very cool, so another time maybe.
However, it’s so easy to hire kayaks at Studland Bay for 30-60 minutes and just paddle around the shallows of the bay – which are just perfect for first timers. Very calm and pretty. My husband took the kids out and I watched from afar as I’d had a recent eye operation, but its safe to say we will definitely be going out on kayaks or canoes again somewhere near us.
My children can’t swim, so life jackets are a must (and for those who can swim too), so we’ll make sure we choose very calm and shallow waters. And we’ll carry on with our swimming lessons!
Kayaking, Studland Bay
Jurassic Coast Activities offers kitesurfing, windsurfing, kayaking, coasteering and paddleboarding. Land and Wave offer coasteering, paddleboarding, family survival skills and sea kayaking. You can learn to sail with Shell Bay sailing. Shallow snorkelling is available at Kimmeridge Bay. And of course, if you can swim, the world (or sea) is your oyster.
Dorset with kids is a must-do holiday. Dorset has always appealed to me as a fantastic UK holiday destination, particularly now with kids (it’s not called the Jurassic Coast for nothing). Plus who needs to fly abroad in summer with this gorgeous weather in England?! Here’s my itinerary for families who want to enjoy the best of coastal Dorset with kids.
Mother of two Fiona Orrell from Lancashire is almost halfway through a year-long adventure walking one section of the Coast-to-Coast trail every month with her husband. After a tough year, walking has been like therapy for her.
Pen y Fan is Wales’ second largest mountain and the highest mountain in southern Britain, standing at 886m above sea level. It’s a popular National Trust location, with over 250,000 people tramping up to the peak each year. At the top you are rewarded with dramatic steep slopes and valley scenery and with the right conditions, you can see right across the four counties of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Somerset. We chose to climb Pen y Fan with our toddler and preschooler as part of our four-month challenge. Here’s how we go on.
The art of adventuring successfully with children old and young is being able to balance what you want to get out of the trip with what is going to satisfy the younger members of the party. These worldwide hiking routes manage to do that. Outstanding views, some challenging sections, and a little off the beaten track for the adults, but safe, well-marked trails that can be tackled in small sections, with features that kids will appreciate too like huge trees, ancient volcanoes and warm hostel stays.
What a weekend. I feel like I’ve just come back from a week abroad. We took a spontaneous trip over to the Isle of Wight on Bank Holiday Saturday as the weather was so perfect. We found the perfect Isle of Wight campsite, went orienteering (aka ‘mountain climbing’ according to my son), splashed at the beach, ate ice cream, and went for a bike ride in the New Forest on the way home. I am now completely in love with the Isle of Wight. Why haven’t I been before?
Part of why I set up The Smaller Explorer was to connect with like-minded families. There’s nothing like chatting with others who have managed to do something amazing after having children. It’s so inspiring, and also gives me loads of ideas of what I could do in the future too, and how to do it.
This series hopes to inspire other families who want to get back out there after parenthood, but don’t quite know where to start, or if it’s possible. There was only one lady I could start with – Catherine Edsell. Catherine is an adventurer, expedition leader, PADI divemaster, Reef Check trainer, yoga teacher, FRGS, TED talker, podcaster and mother of two daughters. Phew.