Tell us your thoughts on connecting with other families for outdoor activities - £100 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

Like us, we're sure that the majority of you are relieved to see the end of the cold, dark, and wet months of winter (although it doesn’t quite feel like it yet!) and are welcoming spring and summer with open arms. The arrival of warmer days, bright mornings and longer evenings for many of us means it’s time to get outdoors with the family.

Here at MNHQ we would love to find out your thoughts on being able to connect with other families for shared and group outdoor activities such as: organised walks, visits to nature trails and areas of outstanding natural beauty, and other fun stuff for parents and kids to do together.

What sort of activities would make you consider joining an outdoor network with other families? Would you like to be able to connect with families in your local area or from further afield? Perhaps you have ideas of how this network could be run/organised? Are you already part of a group of families that organise outdoor activities together? If so tell us about it!

Whatever your thoughts are about connecting with other families do to outdoor activities, please comment on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I think this a great idea. We have met with friends before at the local forest to do the gruffalo trail and things like that. My suggestion would be to meet up at places like this, enjoy a walk and have a group picnic with everyone bringing a few dishes. That way it isn't your food and our food it is for everyone to share. The kids and adults alike get to meet new people and try different food as well.

I think this is a lovely idea, I often fancy getting outdoors with my kids but not always having someone to join us is a shame. We recently visited Rococo Gardens in Painswick with a friend and her children and it was great fun.

Not keen on making arrangements to go out with other families. Trying to sort yourself and one baby is hard enough for a day out, let alone the timings and needs of multiple! Days out alone, meet ups with mum and baby friends at each other's safe and well equipped houses!

We usually try and just meet up with our family (my mum, dad, mother in law, brother etc.) we try and go on days out together. Like a walk along the beach, National Trust or maybe just lunch at a country pub.

Lovely idea but think it would need to be commitment free as it's not always possible to be at same place and time every week. Would love activities that possibly aren't everyday activities, like camp making, bug hunts with knowledge of the names, pond dipping. All age appropriate and equipment provided.

We've never done anything like this. It sounds like it could be fun!

I’d love this. My 2 year old is so much happier and easier to entertain outside. I’d love a forest school but can’t seem to find one near us. Also meeting up in parks with a picnic after would be good. I find it hard to make Mum friends so an outside class would be good. An outside play group would be lovely in the summer months.

We recently moved to a new area so would welcome the opportunity to meet up and share outdoor activities with other families. I'd like to see activities like walks, nature safaris, discovering new beauty spots, beach days... possibly even more ambitious activities like evening den building or camping weekends. Emphasis on local though ... no-one with young children wants to travel too far!

We use Mush app to arrange meet ups with other mums in the local area and we tend to opt for local country park as parking is good value and there is always plenty of do in the fresh air.

We go camping with a group of families every year. It’s lovely to get outside with others with little ones.
Last year we went to the seaside and spent a day rock pooling which was fab.
We also meet up at a local beauty spot for river paddling and bbqs in the summer.

We love meeting up with other families.. we play football in the park, we go for walks up mountains. We tend to be pretty last minute.. we send an email or Facebook message round, then see who fancies it. Oh, and we often invite people to the beach..! Basically, we are people who like the outdoors, and hanging out with others..!

I like this idea. Not always having people free to join you can ruin a nice day out, so a meet up for forest trails etc sounds up ny street

We tend to team up with groups of friends so the kids amuse each other and the parents get a chance to relax too. We are lucky to be near to some great woods and countryside, picnics and lots of romps through fields are the order of the day.

I would love this. Would love to do gardening together, meeting other peoples dos, as we cant have one, cargo bike riding trips tpp.

I love it when we have good weather, it's so much easier to entertain our DD. We love meeting up with friends for activities. Not so sure we'd want to meet up with strangers, as it's easier to spend time with friends and is less effort.

I love very casual arrangements with families - so we have a class WhatsApp group and invariably if the weather is nice, somebody will suggest an after school picnic at the local park - everyone takes a dish (and some of us lushes a bottle of bubbly) and the kids have an awesome time.

We usually get together for rounders and football in the summer too fairly often

Nature walks, days out. picnics, no pressure, something for all ages so that the older ones are happy as well as the younger ones.

Sounds like a pain in the arse. I'd much rather do outdoor things just me and the kids. The only things I do think would be nice is a standing park date with the whole of DC's class, e.g. anyone from class 2 meet you at the park sunday afternoon

We go on activity holidays, which involves some degree of connection with other families and that works fine.

You also meet other families for outdoor activities if your DC play sport or you are involved with a sporting club. Same applies if you are part of a bird-watching club, young farmers etc - doesn't have to be sports related.

Villages have fetes, which usually involve some degree of connection with others too - outdoors.

I'm not really sure I'd want to go on an activity that was based around 'connecting with other families' rather than the activity itself if that makes sense. I find things like that a bit cringy, whereas an activity that has merit in itself and involves meeting other people I have no problem with.

Parkrun!

It's there, every Saturday, junior version on Sundays. It's all about participation, so it doesn't matter if you're not much of a runner. Buggy runners welcome on most courses, as are dogs (on lead). And many of them are in nice places, where you could stay on for a day out - and you could decide to do a bit of tourism round all your local Parkruns.

If you like it, geocaching might appeal too.

I really like the idea of road closure days, so our children could play safely with other local children. I’ve seen some really interesting articles about them.

Someone came into my daughter's Reception class with rocks for them to paint and hide. Since then, most of them have been very interested in rock hunting. One parent organized a play date for the children to paint rocks and play outside.

I think this is such a great idea. We only have one child (not through choice) and she'd love the company of other kids, and we all love doing outdoorsy stuff. I'd love to get to know more people too, and perhaps make some new friends.

Having an actual thing to go to would make groups easier to organise, otherwise you've got to sort stuff out amongst yourselves. I'm thinking if there's a trail/camp/activity then the purpose or focus is there and everyone can just enjoy it. No one gets miffed their idea was ignored!
My children are getting old enough that when we meet up with friends out they sort of start to play without needing us to coordinate. I'll go anywhere so long as they just get on and play!

We go on a lot of walks all year round because we have 2 dogs. I always look for things we can take the dogs along to and with activities such as a playpark to keep the kids interested. It would be great if we could meet other families that liked to do that too.