Camping Season Starts

With the glorious weather this weekend I have been so jealous of those people that had booked camping trips with their families. With campsite booking up between 20 and 30% for the summer it looks as though those last minute trips won't be quite so spontaneous this year.

In addition to campsite bookings being up the incidence of skin cancer is also showing an increase. Anybody that suffered from sunburn as a child, probably most of us, knows how miserable it is trying to sleep with lobster skin. As a typical pale skinned Brit I am constantly nagging my kids to put on the lotion and keep on their sun hats. We have just added some sun hats to our product range and these can be found in the accessories section of our website http://www.littlewideworld.co.uk/.

The Sahara hat is particularly good with it's light weight fabrc, terry forehead band for absorbing moisture and the stowable neck shade. Made by Vaude you can be sure of the quality and is well worth the £18 price tag.

If you need to be weight or space conscious then the Kids Switch cap (pictured) is a real bargain. At only £6 it offers SPF40 sun protection and is adjustable to fit children from toddlers up to about 8 years of age. It has the added benefit of having a softer peak than many caps which means it can be folded (or if your kids are like mine screwed up) to fit into a pocket or pack.

We have also extended the range of bags we stock with the Vaude Ayla 6 backpack which is a great size for 3-6 year olds and comes with it's own soft "companion" to share all your kids adventures, and the snazzy Daisy shoulder bag which is ideal for little girls who would rather not put their lunchbox in a backpack. Both of these items can be found in the "bags and packs" or "Vaude" sections of our website.

That's the plugs over for this week, with half term I am splitting my time between Camping Kidz and my own kids so it's going to be a busy one. I promise not to go on about the product range in my next update and plan to share some of our favourite camping recipes.

Have a fabulous half term (if your lucky enough to be off work/school) and if you have a favourite recipe you want to share feel free to send it to me at campingkidz@littlewideworld.co.uk.

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.

Seeing in the Summer

The May bank holiday weather was great walking weather and gave us the opportunity to put Small's new boots to the test.

May 1st: White Horse Hill and Weylands Smithy. Being May Day I half expected to find a band of hippes, druids or other nature celebrators atop White Horse Hill nr Uffington, Oxfordshire so was more than a little surprised to find that Small and I had the place to ourselves.

We strolled the short way down the Ridgeway from the National Trust car park towards Waylands Smithy. It wasn't long before we were joined by a bus load of school children - Small was complimented by one of the teachers for her kit. This lady was in agreement with me that walking is a wonderfull discipline for children giving an opportunity to explore the outdoors, learn about nature and get some fresh air and exercise. She had encouraged her children (now teenagers) to carry their own waterproofs, water bottles and snacks. I like to take this a little further and try to encourage Loki to pack his own backpack with all the things he thinks he may need for his rambles.

The only essentials I insist upon are waterproof and a drink, the rest is up to the kids. Loki learnt early on the dangers of over-packing. One sunny afternoon stroll he decided he needed to take his binoculars, a large hard bound bird book, an A4 notepad and selection of felt pens and crayons - in addition to his packed lunch, waterproof and a litre of water. No amount of telling him he was being over-prepared would make him reconsider his choices and he grumbled and complained about the weight of his pack after only a mile or so. I don't think he will make that mistake again.

Bank Holiday Monday and we decided to explore a different part of the Ridgeway. This was a whole family walk as Loki wasn't at school and Dad wasn't in the office.

The gaiters seemed a little excessive considering we haven't had a great deal of rain recently, but as he's got them he insisted on wearing them. I had foolishly decided that my waterproof was surpluss to requirements - this prooved to be an error of judgement. I didn't get very wet but the kids learnt from my foolishness.

Apart from a little drizzle the walk was a success. Only one bout of tears when Small wanted to go left and our route took us right. Minimal moaning from Loki and the dog resisted the urge to bark at some horses that passed us.

I'm hoping that if I build up the kids stamina now we will be able to take on part of the Coast to Coast when we visit Northumberland in the Summer. I'd love to take on the whole walk but I think it will be a few years before we can take on a long distance path as a family.

A few things that caught my eye in the news this week;

Ramblers go the whole hog on charity trek : http://bit.ly/X6GLU. Lancashire is a bit far for us but we do plan to get involved in some charity walking later in the year, watch this space....

Malvern Hills voted one of Britain's best views : http://bit.ly/adMKK

Eurocamp returns to Britain to lure recession-hit middle classes : http://bit.ly/JMR0b