DH wanting to go hiking on family weekend away.

[PooFlower]

We are off to the Lake district for a Fri to Mon weekend away with our two dc.
DH has announced he plans to go for a short hike (2 hours) on the Sat and a long walk (5-6 hours) on the Sunday. He says he will get up at first light and go so he is back in time to do other things.
Am I being unreasonable to ask him not to?
I dont mind him going for a short walk each morning however a long walk will ruin the weekend for me. He will go to bed early the night before, probably wake dd2 up if he gets up early and be shattered and fit for nothing when he gets back.
I feel mean though. He loves hiking but hardly gets to go these days. I wouldn't mind so much if we were away for a week but think it will impact the holiday too much as with it only being a short break.

I'm not being snarky, it's ludicrous to say 'the Lake District is a long way to go for a trundle' when you don't know how far away the op lives. I live a two hours drive from the Lake District and regularly go on holiday there, I don't think two hours is a long way to travel to go and see some nice scenery and have an amble around some shops.
People regularly go on holiday not that far from home.

There's something very rigid and peculiar about this idea that there's no point in visiting an area of outstanding natural beauty if you don't want to spend all of the daylight hours marching about at altitude.

Quite.

"Surely there are some outdoor attractions or a nice museum you could go to?" Is the Keswick Pencil Museum still closed for refurbishment?

We're going on holiday to the Lake District in December and have zero interest in hiking. These are the reasons why we're going.

The Lake District is stunning and I am able to enjoy that from my car/lodge

It is close to where I live so convenient

It was the best cheap to nice ratio I could find for a family of 6

Where we are staying has a heated indoor pool for the kids

I like the shops and tea rooms

There are many day trip options if we fancy it but shock horror we might actually just spend time in the lodge enjoying each other's company and playing Christmas games, we might even drink a hot chocolate or watch a film.

Christ, the OP said at 13:51 that she plans to do mini walks with the kids.

She wasn't planning to sit in with DVDs all weekend!!

Is it not his weekend too? Or does he not get a say in it?

Watching DVDs with hot chocolate can be done at home so I don't blame him for wanting to do something different tbh.

"Keswick Pencil Museum"

Is that a joke?

That is excellent advice pp2017
I would definately be a danger to myself and others fell walking, even in summer. I have a weak ankle and am extremely clumsy. A perimiter walk around part of a lake is much more my thing.
DH is reasonably experienced but would be alone, which would really worry me if im honest.

Thank you for the link too, that is really helpful.

You don't need to go hiking to enjoy the Lake District. I live in Cumbria and I'm not a massive outdoors fan - I enjoy it, but only in good weather and I wouldn't be caught up a mountain in the wind, rain or fog.

There's plenty to do around here that doesn't involve altitude and huge amounts of exercise. There's loads of shops, indoor activities like rock climbing, swimming and trampoline parks, plenty of great pubs, cafes and restaurants to try out and plenty of low level walks that are safe for everyone.

Coniston Water, Grasmere, Derwentwater and Buttermere are all lovely low level walks with plenty of pubs and cafes along the way. There's loads of room for compromise here - he can do a long walk and meet you somewhere like Coniston, you can then walk around the water and go to the Bluebird Cafe or one of the pubs for lunch.

Have a great time, and bring your waterproofs! We're flooded :)

So much unnecessary self-righteous judgement on this thread. Aren’t you all so marvellous?!? OP has not tried to stop her DH pursuing his hobby. She’s asking for balance. The responses here smack of so many posters falling over themselves to prove how awesome they are because they love hiking/outdoorsy stuff.

That’s great. Whatever floats your boat. But the OP has clearly stated that all she wants is a bit of balance.

How about you all stop trying to be the ‘cool girls’ ?

@SentimentalLentil - sounds fab!

I wish i'd never mentioned hot chocolate!
I just had visions of getting back to our lodge on a freezing cold December day, after being out and about seeing the sights of the lake district, and all snuggling up with one cup of hot chocolate.
I certainly dont plan to spend the whole weekend sat inside drinking it. I don't even like it that much, or dvds for that matter but it is something the kids would enjoy.

If I can't do it in heels then I'm not doing it, but I wouldn't stop my husband from walking as he's very keen on it. To me it's akin to being in Paris amidst the shops, I had a whale of a time, far more than my husband did but he carried all the bags and trotted after me all day. At no point did he try to divert me to athletic walking along the Seine.

That's why if I was in the Lake District with him, I'd suck it up and we'd accept that we weren't going to spend the weekend together much.

It's got nothing to do with being a 'cool girl'. Such a silly phrase that is, but when we reply to an OP, we're all coming from our own perspectives and we're not all going to agree.

Men get to have hobbies. Women get to have children.

You'll have a fab time OP - it'll be gorgeous with all the Christmas lights up everywhere :)

Pisacake - why would it be a joke !!

But yes it’s open

What makes you say that, Uptheduffy? It doesn't work like that in this house, we both have hobbies - and kids who sometimes like the hobbies. BUT we don't do everything together, we're not always in each other's pockets and that works for us. We spend enough time together as a family but more importantly, have enough alone-time as well. I'm away most of the week with work so time together as a couple, as a family, and downtime alone - is really important to us.

When I read some posts I find their lifestyles cloying, with (mostly) the women of the partnership wanting to spend time with their kids but with their husbands also - all the time. We're all different, my lifestyle probably wouldn't work for other people.

I had plans to go for mini hikes with the dc probably ending up in a cosy pub for lunch and then all snuggle up and watch dvds and drink hot chocolate.

Good lord why waste a perfectly good weekend in the Lake District doing what you could do at any time in boring boring suburbia??

At 13 your elder DC is perfectly capable of a 5-6 hour walk. I jus cannot believe you'd go to one of the most beautiful places in England and watch DVDs.

I'm with your DH on this.

YABU (and a philistine).

Uptheduffy I don't think that's very fair, or true.

OP, there is nothing wrong with Hot Chocolate.

Thank you to the posters that have given good advice.
I've a few ideas for things to do that we could all enjoy.
Like I said earlier if we were there a few more days I would have no problem with him going off for the day. He has done this before.
He can still go for walks just not for quite as long as he hoped for. The day we are leaving is a good suggestion too.
We are only about two hours from the Lake district so DH can come himself another time if he wants to. He used to go a lot with friends but they don't go any more and he misses it. I will suggest joining a hiking group to him.

This is a perennial problem for us. DH really loves hiking and climbing but the DC don't really enjoy it. It's really his only hobby. We have had some very frustrating holidays in places where he would love to go off for the day up a mountain but has to watch everyone else do it whilst we trudge around a lake with the children.

If you don't want him to take a long walk this holiday does he get other chances to? Obviously there are family responsibilities but its a bit crap when someone never gets to do what they enjoy.

X-posted there. Perhaps we should introduce my frustrated DH to yours!

If you are near Ambleside then go to Brockholes. There is a great adventure playground and a go ape, something for both age groups.

There is a great walk from Windermere which is uphill but v short! Orrest Head (I think). You get fantastic views over lake Windermere so have all the satisfaction of a good view but without walking for hours! You can park at Booths (2 hours free parking).

He needs to compromise - walking alone one day or the other.
Or go on a separate walking trip another time when you haven't planned a family hol