AIBU to have ditched my family on holiday walk

[Mounjaroday]

On holiday and we’d just started our annual coastal walk. We have to navigate over a very squelchy muddy bit, one at a time. DH goes first, then strides off ahead at pace. As usual. Then the kids leap over, and run off to keep up with him. I’m suddenly left trailing behind at the back yet again, and it’s absolutely maddening.

“Wait up” was met with a rather cross “well keep up then” nonsense from DH. He doesn’t wait for me and they keep going - DH striding away, and the kids trotting along - and they don’t even bother looking where I am. They are easily 20m in front at this point.

So this time, I stopped, turned around and ditched the whole lot of them. Went for a mooch around the lovely gift and antique shops in the local town. Then grabbed a coffee and read some of my book. 2 hours all by myself. It was absolutely fabulous.

Was I unreasonable? They’re all salty about how I’d “left them”.

Indeed. And maybe she likes walking when she's got her walking boots on. It's been so wet, I bet the mud was much slippier for her than for the others in boots.

My tall husband used to stride out and leave me behind - no matter what I said. Later, after we'd divorced, I realised this was a technique for undermining me... Look at any crowded city centre - all the tall people keeping pace with their shorter companions, no problem. It's a universal and intuitive thing to do. When someone 'can't' manage it you need to be suspicious of their true motives.
You did the right thing.

Without knowing how old the children are and what kind/ how safe the walk was, its hard to say. If your DH is striding ahead, oblivious to the rest of you, and you left toddlers on a rocky cliff walk, without informing him "properly" and left them without adequate supervision, then you would be absolutely irresponsible and unreasonable. If the "children" are teenagers, on a trapse through muddy fields, then absolutely NOT unreasonable.

Given the kids were able to jump the mud and leg it after their dad more easily than their mum, I'm going to say they were not toddlers and the father was perfectly capable of keeping them safe on his own.