What age for walking without an adult?

[haggisaggis]

DD has just finished her Bronze DofE hike. She is saying "never again" to carrying the huge pack but both she and her friend would like to do some more walking. They are ages 14-15.

I think they are probably too young for unaccompanied Munro bagging but how about 5 - 6 mile hill walks? It's possible that dh could be in the vicinity on his bike but would it be ok to set them off at this age alone? (we're in Scotland by the way so tends to be more remote walking).

5 to 6 miles is nothing. It isn't far enough to qualify as remote either. They could never be more than 3 miles from their start or finish point! With pre-planned routes and approximate arrival times etc etc there should be no problem whatsoever.

Absolutely no need to send your DH off after them!

The problem you'll run into is that that isn't a long enough walk for them. If they do start wanting to go further I'd encourage them to try and increase the size of their group.