Foraging is a just a fancy word to describe searching for wild food. But if you don’t know what you are doing, going on a foraging course is the ideal way to learn about the wild foods that are safe to eat in the UK, and where to find them.
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.
We had so much fun on our first family day trip to France. Here’s our itinerary and what we got up to. I’d thoroughly recommend staying overnight (camping!) if you can as there is so much to see and do, but a day is still plenty of time to enjoy what the Northern French coast has to offer.
We visited the Discover Story Centre in Stratford last month. I’d read about it in Little London, a really useful book for any parents who live in or near London, and was curious to visit. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’d never heard about anything like it. Little London describes it as ‘a magical place for young kids, gently exploring their imaginations and encouraging them into a lifetime’s love of reading.’
I’m a massive fan of London. London without kids is fun. London with kids is even better. Anything you fancy doing, London will have it, and a lot of the best activities for kids in London are free too. Because there is such a lot to do, I’ve split this blog post up into themes – so whether you have a dinosaur fan, book worm or outdoor explorer you’ll find the best of London for the family.
The five-star Heritage Le Telfair Resort and Spa had a refurbishment in 2017. The suites have been upgraded, and there is now a baby club on offer – one of the few resorts in Mauritius that offers this service. We took our four year old and one year old there to try it out. Was it worth the trip? Here’s our Heritage Le Telfair review.
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?
ActivityAdventureAge rangesBeachClimbingExpeditionExploreInspirationMountainsNatureOverseasPrimaryTeenyTravelVolunteeringWalkingWaterWildlife
Adventure after parenthood: Catherine Edsell
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.
Climbing with kids. What could go wrong?! As part of our adventure, we’re going climbing in May. We thought we’d first try finding an indoor climbing wall before tackling something outdoorsy. There are a few climbing walls around us that allow four year olds to climb including White Spider Climbing, the University of Surrey and High Sports. To find climbing walls near you try the BMC.
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