More sunshine, More time to enjoy the outdoors

Wow, it's June already.


A quick rundown of walking festivals this month;


The Gower Walking Festival includes 47 guided walks at day and night taking in the history and wildlife of the stunning peninsula between the 6th and 21st June. More details at http://www.mumblestic.co.uk/.


Bishops Castle walking festival in Shropshire runs from the 9th - 11th June with 11 guided walks including Railway walks, Iron Age forts and woodland walks. Details at http://www.walkingfestival.co.uk/.


Langport Two-Day waling festival runs over the 13th and 14th June. Eight walks through the Somerset countryside run over the 2 days. Contact the organisers via Slams@btinternet.com for further details.


Rothbury and Coquedale Midsummer Festival in Northumberland runs during the week commencing 13th June. The walks cost £7 and all funds raised will go to the Northumberland National Park Good Nature Fund. details at http://www.rothburywalking.co.uk/.

The 13th & 14th of June is the date for the Muirkirk Walking Festival in East Ayrshire. Visit http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/ for further details.

Herefordshire Walking Festival runs in the same week as the Rothbury festival and includes 61 guided walks so there's bound to be something to suit whatever your ability. Walks cost £3, children walk free. http://www.walkingfestival.co.uk/

Details of the Peak District's Historic Borders Walking Festival can be found at visitchesterfiels.info. This walking festival includes walks and cycle rides in the peak district with the "longest walk on the longest day".


There are loads more events running up and down the country and if we have missed something you think should be mentioned please drop me a line at campingkidz@littlewideworld.co.uk.

I am still traipsing up and down the ridgeway - sometimes with the kids, sometimes not. This week saw a 7 mile stretch nicely tucked under our belts as we walked between Goring and East Ilsley. Sunburn was aquired and the dog managed to get a blister! I had no idea dogs could get blisters. This weeks walk is weather dependent and looks like it will probably be a stretch of Ridgeway between Chinnor and Nuffield, part of which is under trees to shade us from the forecast rain.

At the shop; we have taken delivery of more kids backpacks. I'm delighted to say our best selling pack, the Vaude Puck 10, is back in stock. The Puck 10 is the perfect pack for nature detectives as it comes with it's own magnifying glass and seating mat for sitting very still waiting for bugs to come out. My son has been using his for the last year to carry everything from his packed lunch at school to binoculars and gaiters when he is out exploring. We have also added the Ayla 6 pack in a variety of colours - the red arrived this week and is certainly my favourite.

Get in touch; As always I love hearing about the outdoor adventures you ar ehaving with your family so please share stories, walking & camping tips or recipes, or general chat via any of the following methods;

Email; campingkidz@littlewideworld.co.uk
Twitter; http://twitter.com/LittleWideWorld
We also have a Camping Kidz facebook page which we are trying to make a little more interesting - I've created a few discussion boards here were we can share camping tips and recipes so if you have something to share why not get in touch here. Or if you have a question or subject you'd like to discuss add it to the discussion board.

Walking Season Starts

The recent dry weather has made geting out with the kids much easier than in previous springs (and last summer!) and the walking season is really kicking off. Many local parks and woodlands have organised Bluebell walks, some with cream teas and ice creams available. And of course, the walking festivals have kicked off.

When I hear somebody say walking festival I always think of the Isle of Wight Walking festival, which this year runs from the 9th - 24th May with over 200 guided walks ranging in length from 1 mile to 72 miles! So there is bound to be something there to suit every body, whatever your fitness levels or age. There is a small charge for some of the walks, details of which can be found at http://www.isleofwightwalkingfestival.co.uk/.

Also in May there is the;

Garstang Walking Festival - running from 9th-17th May. The walks cost from £2 and include Bluebell walks, a cheese walk(?), afternoon tea walks and family cycle rides. details at www.wyrebc.gov.uk/find/garstangwalkingfestival

South and Heart of Suffolk Walking festival - runing from the 9th -25th May with 61 guided walks to suit all ages and abilities. Visit http://www.southandheartofsuffolk.org.uk/ for details.

Keswick Mountain festival from the 13th-17th May makes me wish I wasn't quite so far from the Lake District. http://www.keswickmountainfestival.co.uk/ has full details of the events which include guided walks, phtographic walks, climbing, scrambling and water sports.

Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival from the 16th-31st May has walks taking in coast, nature reserves, medieveal towns and the dambusters story. No website for this on I'm afraid but details can be obtained by emailing customerservices@e-lindesy.gov.uk

In Wales both the Preseli and Llanelli walking festivals run through May. Visit http://www.planned.org.uk/ and http://www.llanelliramblers.org.uk/ for details of these.

Walk Fest 09 runs from the 8th-14th May in Dumfires and Galloway with walks and social events throughout. http://www.newtonstewartwalkfest.co.uk/ goves further details of all the events taking place.

The 7th Angus Glens Walking Festival runs from the 28th-31st May in and around Kerrimuir, Angus Glen. These walks vary from lowland glens to Munro peaks taking in the wonderfull scenery and wildlife of Angus including red deer, golden eagles and peregrine falcons. The walks cost from £12 and details are available at www.angusanddundee.co.uk/walkingfestival.

And finally, the Aviemore and Cairngorms Walking and Mountain Festival runs from the 9th -16th May with walks varying from easy strolls to strenuous treks to some of Scotlands highest peaks. Alongside the walking is mountain biking, river rafting, canoeing, kayaking, canyoning and climbing. Full details and contact details at http://www.aviemorewalking.com/.

This is by no means a comprehensive list and if you have a walking/outdoors event coming up that you would like to see mentioned here please drop me a line at campingkidz@littlewideworld.co.uk.

Our family walk this week was a 6 km walk through farmland and bridle path that was followed from The AA's 50 Walks in Oxfordshire. The walk started at the unusual 14th century church in Ewelme which houses the tomb of Thomas Chaucer, son of the poet Goeffrey Chaucer, and the grave of Jerome K Jerome can be found in the church yard. Taking in mostly farm track the walk wasn't strenuous with little ascent that Small managed well. I couldn't recommend the walk for puschair users as for the last 500m or so the path gets very narrow and although the path was good for walking I think I would have struggled to get a buggy through.

Whilst on holiday in Yorkshire when our son was very young the owners of the cottage we were renting had left some leaflets called "Walking with Wheels" which gave details of wheelchair and pushchair suitable walks. Many local authorities produce similar leaflets which are often available from tourist information centres or local information offices. If you know of any good publications for wheelchair or pushchair users please drop us a line and we will mention them here. Whilst OS maps are fantastic for planning a walking route trying to establish whether a terrain is suitable for wheels isn't always easy.

Contact: We are on Twitter (our Twitter user name is @LittleWideWorld) and we have a Camping Kidz page on FaceBook, so it's easy to get in touch. Alternatively we can be emailed at campingkidz@littlewideworld.co.uk and of course you can see all the Camping Kidz gear at http://www.littlewideworld.co.uk/.

Our Twitter prize draw took place last week and congratulations to @CharlieMoos who were drawn from the hat by Small. A Rukka Anorak has been sent out and we hope you enjoy exploring the big wide world in your new rainwear.

And at the online store, http://www.littlewideworld.co.uk/ we have just taken delivery of a big box of goodies from Vaude, including sun hats, back packs and sleeping bags. These will be added to the store in the next couple of days (Small and Loki have already picked out the hats they want).

And finally, good luck to everybody who is taking part in the London Moonwalk on the 16th May.