When my wife and I discovered we were going to have a baby I was determined to not let it change us, we would remain the outgoing and adventurous type, the nipper would have to tag along and like it! – Ohhh the naivety!!
We love to travel, always have and always will, and driven by our spirit of adventure and backed by these Instagram influencers who portray travelling with a child as some sort of dream we thought we ca do this! Little did we know, as with all forms of social media they were all BIG FAT LIARS!!! Or to be nice about it, only showing us the good bits, which I don’t blame them because lets face it, no-one wants to see you trying to change a pooey nappy on a change table that’s hanging off the wall in some grubby toilet in Birmingham Airport, or Daddy doing laps of a Spanish sea front trying to get the 10 month old to calm down because she didn’t like the way the waiter made the wine go pop!
Anyway, we’ve done it and will continue to do it because we want to see the world and the positives far outweigh the negatives!
There was one particular thing I wanted to talk about when traveling with a nipper and that is hiking with a little one! I love my hiking, especially The Wainwrights Fells in The Lake District. In my quest to ‘bag um all’ (sang to the Pokémon theme) it was a given that I would be doing some with my child, initially we would use the front carrier thing and then upgrade to something more “supportive” for both me and the “package”.
I always thought I would do this, my Dad carried me up various mountains including Snowdon and it never did him any harm, and all these bleeding influencers are doing it so why can’t I?? I envisioned that my strength would improve as time went on, I’d be like that dude Milo of Croton. Legend has it he carried a newborn calf to graze everyday. Each day the calf grew and so did Milo’s Strength, eventually the calf grew into a full grown cow and Milo of Croton could carry that cow! This would be me, only difference being I would be carrying a tiny human up mountains, she would grow and so would I, eventually my super human strength would allow me to achieve great feats of endurance!!
Legends are Legends for a reason! She’s now 2 and my hips ache like a bitch!!!!
Anyway, I’m getting carried away here…. The first Fell she “completed” was Black Crag on a very windy autumnal day, we enjoyed fabulous colours in the trees, my daughter did not though as she slept the whole way, motion is and always has been the lotion for that kid. We managed a couple of walks with the front carrier but soon it was clear we needed to upgrade!
Having friends definitely has it’s benefits, especially when it comes to all the hand me-downs and hand me-up’s and trades. It was perfect timing when our good friends no longer needed their carrier! I don’t think I have ever parted with money so fast! Now our daughter would be carried around in style and I would get even stronger! (I was still under that illusion!)
Our first outing with the new carrier would be up High Rigg near Thirlmere, there’s nothing high about it, but it was a top choice to test out the new saddle! I was impressed, perfectly balanced, comfortable, easy to get the nipper in and out, space for the water bladder (for drinking) and it even came with a very stylish sun shade which absolutely does not act like the mainsail on a schooner in high winds…… I’ve been blown all over the shop I tell ya! This “mainsail” also acts as the support for the rain cover, which when on, it looks like my daughter is in her own steamed up escape pod! I’d like to say she glares out at us but she’s usually asleep! So glad she’s taking it all in…. I joke but it’s a great bit of kit which has allowed us to hike up quite a few fell’s in the Lake District, walk along parts of the Devon coastline and plod about here there and everywhere.
One thing is universal though, whenever passing fellow walker and they see here asleep on my back, they always say something along the lines of….
“it’s alright for some!”
“I know which one of you I’d rather be…”
“Somebody looks comfortable”
I have to then pretend it is the first time I have ever heard one of those comments, and chuckle and respond with something like “Ha, yes, I’m hoping she’ll be carrying me on the way back…. Chortle chortle chortle…” or “got to start them young”
But that I think is the point, start them young! Get them doing stuff you want to do, Allow them to be involved in your world. They’ll be grateful, just like I am to my parents for “dragging” me along. Sometimes I played merry hell up, because it was hard or I’d rather be doing something else, I was a little brat for this, but it did sink in, and for that I’m very grateful, because it opened up a huge world to me and I can sit down with my parents and talk about all these places in the lakes and share stories, I hope that for my daughter too, hopefully she’ll let me come… Hopefully my knees and hips will let me!!
Happy wandering.
TM
