Do you walk the school run?

[shalaa]

Looks like i'll be losing my car in 3 weeks and will be walking to and from school with ds (5) and dd (1) i the buggy. It's 2.9 miles there so will be walking 5.8 miles per day in all weather!

How far do you walk doing the school run and do you do it in all weather? How long does it take?

Yip in all weathers, waterproof trousers are your best friend. Probably about the same distance.

I can't drive so don't have a choice.

According to my pedometer it is a round trip of 1.2 miles so not too bad. It only ever felt too far in all the snow and ice. It takes between 10 and 15 minutes on the way to school and 15 to 20 minutes when he's tired on the way home.

It took me 30 minutes in the rain the other day as ds seems to come to a complete standstill in the wet!

am looking at waterproof trousers on ebay, any recommendations?? Have a buggy board for DS, am dreading it in bad weather.

I walk, it is under a mile though so not too bad but veyr exposed on welsh hills so windy and cold when the weather is shit.
Having the buggy is a godsend, you don;t need a buggy board if it hurts your legs. DD rides on teh cross bar on the back if she is too tired.
I find walking to school not too bad but home is a bastard with tired kids in teh rain. Take food with you and maybe hot choc in a thermos if it is really shitty in a sippy cup, bit childish but you can keep them going that little bit longer.
Has he got a scooter? Our run is too hilly for DD1 to use one but I know some other mums use one and then hook it over the buggy.
Oh, and MP3 player and tunes to keep you going when he is in school

yeah, i walk ours its a 10-15 min trip there with DD and about 10 mins back she takes longer coming home though but she (hopefully) will get her big-school place allocated to the school at the back of our house so it will be literally 2 minutes there and back

The worst thing is the pitying looks you get
'oh poor you, isn't the weather terrible'
'when are you goung to start driving'

blah blah , from the people who drive even when the sun is shining, lol

2nding waterproof trousers. I don't mind dawlding and investigating puddles or going via tha squelchy field if I'm warm and dry inside my waterproofs. Wellies are perfectly acceptable school run wear round here.

I walk 1.5 miles each way. It's a struggle though

1 mile. so 4 miles per day. with ds2 in buggy. do it in rain. but not if its 'pissing it down'. then take car.

I walk but it's really close so am impressed with your trek.

We walk there and back. A mile each way. Through the park so a nice walk really. I do 4 miles the dc 2.

Dd used to cry/complain if she had to walk home at the 11.30 pick up too. She's there all day now so not an issue.

I walk so ds2 gets a nap/fresh air, because I like it, it's healthier, the dc's get to walk with some of their friends (sometimes) me too actually, I save money on car costs.

We go by car if I or one of the dc's is ill. Or if we're rushing off out somewhere. Or occasionally if I've been REALLY late.

I walk in rain and snow. If I drive we still get wet as the car park is a fair way from the school, so you still have to unload the pram and walk a bit and get wet. Might as well walk the whole way.

Oh yes I try to remember a snack for them after school. Gives them a boost. Also we stop in park for a play if its not raining.

We do, but it's only 5 minutes to DD1&2's school, and 10 minutes to montessori (fraud emoticon)

Does DS have a scooter?

Oh yes princessmel, I sometimes see people getting in their cars as we go past and we beat them to the playground what with the one way system, strapping in and parking. I do drive when I have to be somewhere quickly after dropping off DD1 and I find I have to actually leave earlier to get the car sorted!

Forgot to say, I can always make DD1 walk further witha promise to visit the bakery on the way home for a gingerbread man and some milk roll, yum!

Yes we try and race the cars! By the time they've unloaded buggy of all school bags, lunchboxes, drinks etc, strapped in multiple kids, collapsed buggy, inched out of the crammed car park, we're at the bottom of the hill almost at our road.

yes, we do, every day in all weathers

Is 2.9 miles the round trip, there and back? Is the school in your catchment area? I live in Scotland, walk .9 mile there and the same back, did that 3 times a day for two years when ds was at nursery, but I had a bike buggy which helped in the worst weather, but not great in high winds.

If your route is any way unsafe for children(bad roads to cross, other dangers i.e country road without a footpath) then you might get taxi/bus provided by your local authority - can't remember, but over 2 miles away I think you are entitled to school bus.

I love beating people in cars too.

I drive. DD's school is about 3.5 miles away. DH drives her int he morning on way to work (he is literally passing gate anyway) and I collect her on way home. I have done it on the bus before, but only through encessity. No way we could walk it.

Yes but school is just across the road, it takes about 30 seconds.

However I don't drive so we also walk everywhere else, scooters, snacks and wellingtons are your new best friend.

Yup, 2.5 miles round trip, so 5 miles per day. Double buggy, scooter for DS (5.5).
Sometimes drive if its pouring though.

We don't have a car so walking is the only way and we do it in all weathers -- and walk/bus everywhere else too.

Definitely take a snack for the end of school, scooters (and once they can ride them, bikes) are a godsend, waterproofs, all good.

We often go to the park on the way home from school (just in case they aren't getting enough exercise ).

The dcs are excellent walkers and never complain about having to walk anywhere because to them walking is the normal way to get around.

There are times mid-winter when it gets dark almost at home-time, when it's absolutely pissing down, when the streets are covered with ice that you think, oh, I do wish I had a car. But that's more than compensated for by the thought that my kids know their neighbourhood intimately because they walk around it all the time, and they have time to stop and look at things, and talk to people (and me and each other) on the way home.

Most of the time I confess I look at children strapped in the back of the car and feel rather sorry for them. They're not learning about roads and traffic, and they don't have the freedom of the streets that walkers do.

We do a mile each way so 4 miles a day. As others have said get waterproofs for those horrible rainy days but on a nice day we really dawdle back home, taking our time looking at plants, insects, whatever.

The DSs love their scooters and that helps tho we don't use them every day.

I had use of a car for a couple of months and was surprised to find that I missed the school run walk. Definitely felt fitter doing it by foot and also enjoy the fresh air.

DS is in an out of catchment area school as our local school is in special measures and is notorious for bullying. Loves the school he's at but it's a long walk complete with hills! Also dd is at that age when she hates being in the pushchair and wants to walk.

Will be in all weather as we will no longer have a car and school is not on a bus route. Guess it'll be nice in summer, trying to be positive! :O