Outdoorsy families? How do you manage it?

[Naturelover5]

If you have l an outdoorsy family what do you do? How do you do it?
We're such a disorganised family, the type with bags for life at the beach...!
Not looking for tips as such (yet!) just interested in what other families are doing... Dc aged 9 & 11, enjoy being outdoors but I'm clueless... We live on the outskirts of a small city but have plenty of green areas around us..

DH is super outdoorsy and one of the least organised people I know!
We go on walks,mooch about on beaches.
He goes on big walks, climbs, cycles, etc.
We camp as a family and DH does a bit of wild camping too.

Walk, bike or scoot short distances instead of taking the car.
Geocaching
scouts
sports teams / coaching
do parkrun / junior parkrun
go outside instead of having screen time
get an allotment
get or borrow a dog

My DS is younger, but we do walks and make journey sticks or collect nature items on stickyback plastic or in a woven stick frame. Sometimes we do a rainbow. Things like that.

I’ve got smaller DC than you (5 and 8mo) so we do have to be reasonably organised otherwise it turns into a disaster but we get picnic and rucksack ready the night before, then we’re minimising faffing from DH in the morning. We like to go into Cumbria so would do a lower level fell/hike making sure there was an ice cream built in somewhere, sometimes we stop for a paddle and I’ll swim or we might go to an attraction like the aquarium and then a shorter walk afterwards. It tends to be a mix but we do a lot of just walking, we’re working our way through the Wainwrights which DS is enjoying so far.

If we’re just local to home we’ll get bikes out or walk somewhere nearby. We also camp every few weeks over summer, on basic sites so it’s cheap!

We live in a very ‘outdoorsy’ country, so have had to adapt, especially after spending nearly 30 years in Crewe!

best bits of advice to make things easy and comfortable are:

decent large backpack (at least 20 litres) with good straps

good shoes - trainers for summer, decent weatherproof boots for winter/autumn

clothing- I’m normally in decent sports leggings if we’re in the forest looking for mushrooms/berries or just out in trails and good weather gear for the kids, either rain gear or a lightweight suit do they can get dirty and stay warm and dry. I shudder when I see pictures of kids playing in the snow wearing jeans.

lastly everyone has their own water bottle and their own lunchbox and snack box.

both my kids have their own decent backpack too with a little clip across the from to stop their straps falling down.

I have a 10 year old and a nearly 3 year old and they have both grown up outdoorsy. They carry their own stuff and even help with the fire and cook their own own food on the fire when we are out.

I’ll probably think of more things…

Mine are older now. But geocaching was always good to get them out. As well as a pub or ice cream stop. They all did scouts so had suitable footwear and rucksacks for long walks - water bottles and snacks or picnic inside.

I found a website that had circular walks round our area so I didn't have to work out routes myself.

Walks, bikes, picnics, National Trust, playgrounds, boat trips...

We're an outdoorsy family. We just do a lot outside. We live close to a river and the coast. We also live on cycle route. So there are lots of places to go for a walk or a bike ride on our doorstep. We also have a lot of nature parks, forests and nice places for a walk within driving distance. It's a cheap day out and let's the kids burn off energy.

I know you didn't want tips but just put your shoes on and go out! Get a cheap rucksack to carry your stuff in, make sure you've all got a decent coat and comfortable shoes. Plus don't be put off by a little bit of rain.

We do all sorts of outdoor stuff.

Some of it requires being really organised and taking special kit with us. Other stuff is easier stuff like walks at tourist attractions.

For a few of the things we do, we're members of a club. They often have kit to borrow so you can see if you enjoy it before spending on your own kit.

Any particular outdoor things that you were thinking of?

I would say that for some things, it's worth seeing if there's any courses for beginners. e.g. For hiking, it's worth doing a navigation course

What's wrong with bags for life at the beach? We are outdoorsy ans use bags for life to get our crap to and from the car at the beach

We live full time in the country now (hurrah!) but when we lived in a big city we prioritised getting out in to green areas one Sat or Sun a fortnight, as we found once a week too much. (The other weekend we would spend some time in a local park.)

We found cycling was good with toddlers (dc seated behind in proper child seats) and then we progressed to family horse riding treks or fishing expeditions or beach walks. Always with a nice picnic taking things we only eat when walking! And we always brew tea!

And then of course every holiday we would do a set walk with stops (some walking holidays take your stuff on for you to overnight stop) or llama and donkey trekking are good. Or places of historic interest like Hadrian’s Wall. Depends on your interests! You kind of get in to the swing of it as a family!

Now the dc are young adults they are heading off on their own on bicycling tours and climbing expeditions! It’s great to see! And they have a deep love of the countryside.

I second what everyone is saying about dc having their own mini rucksacks, water bottles, cagoules and mini survival kits! Makes them feel more involved!

My ds 13 prefers to spend his holiday cycling, swimming, picnicking etc.

All I have to do is to ensure the boot of the car has towels, swimming kit, walking boots, cycling helmets, changes of clothes and water bottles. And then choose a different venue or picnic each day.

The cycle rack gets attached in July and comes of in late October. It can be exhausting but a collection of OS maps and a fridge full of portable food helps.

Blackberry picking is always favourite 😊

We are quite outdoorsy, we trained the kids from very young to carry their own backpack with hat, water, snack etc

And I think it's mostly about having the right clothes available - good walking boots, excellent water proofs, ski jackets etc. There's no such thing as bad weather - only bad clothing!

Similar age DCs to you. We like walks (although rarely refer to them as a walk as it tends to generate groaning ... We are going to the canal, countryside, country park tends to be received better); badly played tennis on the free courts at the local parks; frisbee or football in the park; bike rides; national trust visits (the parks and gardens rather than indoor stuff).

I found getting national Trust membership made us more outdoorsy as a family (wouldn't say we were naturally that way!). Worked our way through the 50 things to do before your 11 3/4 loads of ideas there.

When dd was little I always had in the boot - wellies, waterproofs, suncream, sun hat, spare clothes, picnic blanket, rounders bat and ball, kite and a football. Those things never left the car apart from to be washed so we were always organised and could always do something outdoorsy without a fuss.

We're still outdoorsy but it's paddleboarding and hikes up pen y fan/suger loaf or long bike rides now. I'm much more disorganised with a teenager.

YY to NT membership, I've still got mine going now. English heritage is another good one if there are enough places in your area to make it worth it.

Agree with PPs: National Trust membership or a dog. Rucksack each with water, snacks and wet wipes/hand sanitiser/tissues/solid block sunscreen. Car boot with plastic cricket set, kite, towels, wetsuits if near water, ball, frisbee/koosh ball. We tend to work out somewhere to go and either pack up a massive box of mixed sandwiches and some fruit. Or buy the kids’ meals at National Trust (box that they fill with sandwich, fruit, cake or chocolate, juice and yogurt). But our car always looks filthy.
Mine are older Primary now but snacks and changes of clothes were critical when younger.

And meal planning/a slow cooker will be your best friend. Nothing worse than coming home shattered and having to cook.

A rucksack and decent waterproofs are a good starting point.

I also thoroughly recommend one of these www.amazon.co.uk/210x200cm-Sandproof-Portable-Lightweight-Waterproof-Reinforced/dp/B09VXS1SMZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=YZ7PMJLWMS1L&keywords=lightweight+picnic+blanket&qid=1659028690&sprefix=light+weight+pic%2Caps%2C568&sr=8-3

I carry mine just about everywhere. We can have a picnic wherever we are or comes in handy when benches etc are wet. Great on the beach to give you somewhere to get them changed.

If you want walks start with forestry commission places where there are way marked paths of different colours. You just pick your distance and follow it.

Agree with National Trust, English Heritage etc also YHA was great when our DS was younger. Both DH and I are ex Scout Leaders (it's how we met!) so it was natural to just be out and about all the time. Fortunate to live in nice rural places. DS loved (still does) cricket so that easily takes at least a day outside every weekend plus training in the week. Endless walking, beach days, cycling, forest trips, golf, fishing, water activities etc.

The only slight downside is that my DH is so moody if the weather means he's confined to being at home !!

I wouldn't say we're an outdoorsy family but we live right by lots of lovely nature so its just natural to go out in it. The forest starts at the top of our road so we go there often just for a walk round, pick some berries, play with sticks and throw stones in the water. The lake is down the road and across the main road so again we go there often to swim or skim stones or look at the boats (our neighbour lets us use his boat too but my daughter is scared of going on little boats and I'm not keen on taking my son out on a boat alone yet). Don't need to be organised for any of that, just some mosquito spray and anti-histamine cream!

I do love going for nice little hikes up hills and fells (there's a steep hill in our forest but we've gone up that a million times) when we are able to get to any but that takes organisation (and someone to drive us) but the reward is a lovely view and the children getting a feeling of accomplishment - last summer we went up a nice rocky hill in Lapland, even my then 3 year old (it was a demanding trail due to the rocks, half the hill is basically piles of rocks!) and it reminds you what's great about getting outdoors and doing stuff.

We are outdoorsy and swim in the sea every week in summer but I still bring a bag for life to the beach - they are the perfect size and it doesn't matter if they get sandy!

My beach tips are hooded towels to get changed and shortie wetsuits for the DC to swim in and keep warm.

I bought a picnic cooler rucksack in Aldi a few weeks ago I am looking forward to using.

We never buy specific picnic food, we have bowl type thermos things and I make whatever lunch or dinner we would have been having and it goes in the thermos. We have a lot of curry when we are out on walks especially in the winter, it keeps the kids warm and going for longer. They go in the bottom of one rucksack and take up less space then a whole bag of stuff.
Everything we normally need stays in the car, raincoats, spare clothes, nappies, bug spray etc and only comes in to get washed or if they outgrow them.

The kids generally pick where we go, and if its a going to be a long time out or a short time out. But our flat is cramped and they like running around so they would generally prefer to be out for longer.
They like waterfalls and rivers the best, but really like big hills for sunsets and the woods for building dens etc

We are outdoorsy. We go out every day. Even just walking / cycling to school counts. We spend alot of time at local nature reserves, woods, national trust places. The beach even in winter just wrap up warm.

Tips would be a decent backpack for adults and children carry their own things. We invested in klena kanteen insulated bottles to keep drinks hot / cold and also thermos type food pots so we often cook sauages at home then take them in the food containers on a picnic and have hotdogs. Great for winter.

Decent thermals and waterproofs for all we buy alot second hand.

Wetsuits for swimming and bodyboarding. We have a small beach tent for changing etc

Have fun!