Have you climbed a uk mountain with your primary school aged dc?

[InterstellarDrifter]

It’s one of the things I want to do this year. Can you tell me which mountain please and how it went?

Did Pen Y Fan with a four year old. She walked the whole way with no problems.

Lots of people have taken children up Scafell Pike , Helvellyn etc but you absolutely should not attempt either of these with a level of experience suggested by “ some kind of path to follow so we don’t get lost“.

We have set out on to the fells applying sun cream, and then an hour and a half later found ourselves in thick mist. People die on Helvellyn every year.

With the right fell, the right kit and the right knowledge it is a brilliant thing to do. Cat Bells would be a good option in the Lakes. On a clear warm day. With good boots, and waterproofs in your rucksack.

And familiarise yourself with how to use an ordnance survey map. Or for the Lakes the Wainwright guides (get the updated ones) are helpful in showing you the way.

There is a ‘beginners’ route up Helvellyn from Thirlmere, but if must descended on the summit if you are not good with map and compass it can be very disorienting to find your way down and the wrong way can be very dangerous.

My parents took me & my sister up Snowdon when we were little - I was 6, & sister was 4. I walked but my dad carried her part of the way. We walked up the steep path, & back down the train track (very shallow gradient) & pretty safe as you can see & hear the train coming easily.

We used to go to the peaks, lakes etc regularly for holidays, so we were used to decent walks, but that was definitely the longest.

And the beginners route up from Thirlmere is hard work. The Yorkshire Peaks are a good bet as mentioned up the thread- Pen y Gent v good for children.

DD1 climbed Snowden at just turned 3yo, and not the tourist path (a decision in hind sight that was very stupid and we were lucky not to get ourselves in trouble) She was carried about a quarter of the way down before finding a second wind. The path by the train track is easy not to get lost on, which we followed on the way down

Going to Peak district this summer, DDs will be 7&9. They easily do 4-5hr hikes.

I did Pen Y Gent with a 7 and 4 year old.
We went with a few friends and their kids so that made it more exciting. The 7 year old practically sprinted up with a big crowd of other kids.
The 4 year old was a little slower but got there in the end.
There was one moment near the top when she sat herself down and announced "We're there Mummy". I didn't contridict her.
I just sat down next to her and let her eat some food and recharge. Then she got up and said that perhaps we weren't at the "actual real top" just yet and we should keep on walking. So we did and we made it.
I had to carry her a little on the way down from the summit but she eventually walked the majority of the way back (albeit slowly and with frequent breaks)
My advice is to try and strike a balance between getting to the destination in good time (which you obviously need to do to avoid getting stuck on a hillside at nightfall) and letting them feel that you arent rushing them.
Take frequent breaks, stop to looks at things. Play on the rocky outcrop or interesting abandoned house. Give snacks and squash. Pack sweet things as blood sugar can drop surprisingly quickly.
We took jam sandwiches, boiled eggs, energy bars, pasta salad and a 2 litre bottle of squash.
Wear multiple thin layers of clothing and don't forget suncream. Have fun!

There is a Munro (Scottish Mountain) in the Cairngorms (near Ballater, I think) where the car park is 3/4 of the way up so the climb itself isn’t too arduous. We took our then 5 year old DD and she skipped up. I don’t remember any snow at the peak and there is a path. Sorry, can’t remember which Munro this was. The Scotsman has a list of the 10 easiest Munros to climb.

Ben Nevis is really hard, especially coming down. I did it as a pretty fit adult about 10 yrs ago and could barely walk for a few days after!

Did Snowden with my kids when they were 4 and 6.

We are an active family used to walking lots, it's not really a climb if you choose a simple path.

They loved it, youngest was like a mountain goat and they asked to go swimming after we finished. Husband and I were shattered.

Mountains are above 600m
As pp have said, some of those suggested such as Hellvellyn etc need maps, compasses etc.

Regardless of what you choose - make sure you’re properly dressed and have the right equipment. People die every year on popular tourist mountains - even snowdon and Ben Nevis if the weather turns suddenly

Did Snowdon when DC were 4 and 6, we got the train up and walked down. As others have said it's pretty hard to get lost on the tourist path from Llanberis, but that doesn't mean you should go without the right equipment. The weather can turn nasty quickly and there's no guarantee you'll get a seat on the train down if the weather changes.

We did Scafell Pike when they were 8 and 10, walking up from Wasdale. Again it's a busy path but still a slog and not really a starter fell.

Any time you go to the mountains you have to be prepared that the conditions might not be right for summitting. DH and I are experienced walkers and have had weeks in the Lakes pre-kids when we had to stick to low level walks because the rain (of which there's a lot!) turns the fells into bogs where the paths just vanish.

Yes, Scafell Pike is another one with a relatively straightforward choice of ascent, but if mist fell many routes off the summit could be thoroughly dangerous.

The exploits of families with plenty of experience are not relevant to the OP unless recommending a fail safe path in safe terrain. And with the right equipment.

Sorry to bang on about this. But read the online logs of the Mountain Rescue Teams.

I would recommend catbells! I wouldn’t do anything like helvellyn to start because you don’t want to put them off. We took a pair of binoculars and printed some pictures of things to spot on the way so there was more of a focus than just walking, we gave the kids disposable cameras too to take pictures of what they saw.

The clwydian range in North Wales has a few smaller peaks. Not quite big enough to be official mountains but to child they are big enough. Moel Famau is the largest. Has a car park at the bottom with a play area, clear paths upwards and a ruin at the top where you get good views of Wales and Liverpool.

As an adult I can climb up and down in about an hour, it's safe enough apart from a small amount of scree near the top. For non experienced walkers accompanied by children it's ideal.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’m checking them out
I’m aware that we’re not experienced enough to do anything too challenging but up for a bit of a challenge.
We’re in outer London , kids are sporty and active and we do lots of walking though mainly fairly flat areas. Youngest dc is 8.
We’re happy to drive to places for a weekend.
When I say path, I don’t really mean a constructed path but a well walked path that most walkers/climbers would follow.

If your youngest is 8 you could do Snowden in the summer. I wouldn't recommend anyone climb it in the winter with children unless they are very experienced on mountains as the weather can turn bike very suddenly.

There are lots of other activities in snowdonia that would make a nice holiday or long weekend. And beaches not too far away.

*bike? Bad!

I would be wary of taking small kids up Helvellyn - Striding Edge has a very steep drop! Coniston Old Man is about an 8 mile there and back route from the village. It’s challenging but manageable with clear paths. My kids enjoy that one.

We did snowdon with dds 9 and 8 and ds 1 (in a carrier!).
Recently we did scafell with lots of family and dds 15, 14 and ds 8 - thankfully the rest of the family are very experienced hikers and mountaineerers and had a map!

Ben Nevis is really hard, especially coming down. I did it as a pretty fit adult about 10 yrs ago and could barely walk for a few days after!

Scottish mountains generally need a bit of respect - if you can’t use a map and compass and have no experience I’d pick very carefully and tbh Ben Nevis is in no way suitable for beginners. While there are a number of well worn routes up the mountain, navigating back to the route from the summit is tricky and walkers can easily end up straying into some very dangerous gullies.

I’m guessing you weren’t planning to drag yourself to Scotland anyway but just bear in mind the Scottish hills claim lives all year round and come well equipped with a clear plan.

I would recommend a holiday in Edale (peak district) for good waymarked paths and hills to climb, although please don't do Kinder Scout without someone experienced who knows where they are going. (as a pretty competent and experienced 18 Yr old my dm banned me from it when I went hiking with friends until she had shown me, too much potential for fog etc). We did scafell pike when we were kids, but then again my parents grew up in the hills so were very experienced, plus we'd had plenty of hill practice

My 5 year old has done Snowdon. It’s relatively easy and there’s a cafe at the top!

Mam Tor is a good one for kids, not too difficult and some interesting stuff to look at.

My brother was 3 when he first climbed Whernside.

Yes I still think Snowden is a really good option by the sounds of things.