And the winter walking season began for us with a Crackpot idea!
Storm Arwen blew through on Friday night and Saturday morning this week, leaving some general chaos in it's wake. We escaped the worst of this but the forecast for Saturday was unstable and windy which put our walking and biking plans on hold. Luckily the forecast for Sunday was reasonable so we set off to try a new walk that we thought the Little Chaps would enjoy.
The weather has really changed over the last week, bringing much colder air and lower temperatures which leads us into this blog's main subject - tips for staying warm.
I've said it before but I absolutely hate seeing people out on the hills who are inappropriately dressed. At worst, it causes accidents. At best, people have a cold day that is not enjoyable and that puts them off the outdoors. Winter is a great time to get out with cold, crisp air, magnificent views and also the possibility of walking/playing in the snow. It just needs a little more preparation than the warmer weather and some basic knowledge.
Little Ones can get cold really easily and there are a few things that we rely on to keep the Little Chaps warm when we walk in winter:
Layers:
It might sound obvious to wear plenty of clothes but that is pretty much the one thing that should be easy to get right. I have seen many parents on the hill with their children who are quite clearly cold and miserable and having a terrible time when they simply don't have enough clothes on. You don't need super technical gear (unless you undertake a super epic Scottish or Lakeland winter hill day), just an understanding of using layers.
As a guide, on "proper winter walks" the Little Chaps wear:
vest, long sleeve t-shirt, short sleeve t-shirt, fleece/jumper, 2nd fleece/jumper, coat (normal school coat), then a waterproof. Layered up in the snow
Leggings (hard to buy in boys colours - people think girls
only wear pink but that's a rant for another day - but they go underneath everything so no issue with wearing pink leggings!), tracksuit bottoms and waterproof trousers sort out the bottom half really well.
Plus the obvious hat and gloves, possibly a scarf too. With a hat on, a hood over that (fleece hoody or coat hood) and then their waterproof hood over, they are well wrapped up. A balaclava is quite a good option - Little Chap #2 has always hated the wind blowing in his face and a balaclava sorts him right out.
The Little Chaps have been fine in temperatures down to freezing or below in the clothes listed above. We do tone down the layers a bit depending on conditions or Daddy ends up with a very full rucksack! We put even more on when the Little Chaps were being carried on our backs because they did not have the benefit of movement to warm themselves up. We once managed about 5 vests and babygrows (plus coats etc) on Little Chap #1 on a spring Munro day out!
The only technical bit of kit in this is their waterproofs (and their walking sock/boots), the rest of their clothes are just normal t-shirts and trousers that they wear in everyday life.
Don't forget, Mums and Dads need to layer up too as you will walk a bit slower than normal. Stick to a similar principle of layers. Again, it doesn't need to be technical kit, it is the layer principle that matters.
Fuel the day:
Lower temperatures plus activity burns more calories. Have a good breakfast. In fact, have extra breakfast! Have cereal and then some toast. Porridge is even better - just put the oats out to soak the night before to speed up your morning getaway.
On the hill, snack often. We find biscuits (eg hobnobs) are the same as cereal bars without wrappers that are hard to undo with cold hands (plus wrappers create more waste). Take a good lunch. We like to add a pork pie to the sandwich box and have a "first lunch" and "second lunch" so that we stop for shorter periods and don't get cold sitting for too long.
Take foods that you find comforting and look forward to eating and don't forget to drink as well. Water can get cold in the bottle so consider a thermos of warm orange/Ribena.
Spares:
Take spare bits and pieces. I make sure I have at least a spare pair of gloves for each of the Little Chaps. My spare hat and jumper will go on either me or the Little Chaps if required (on top of all their other stuff, they need my bigger clothes to go on top!).
The other two bits of kit that get added to the rucksack are a torch (just in case) and our emergency shelter. Emergency shelters are a bit of an investment and are, essentially, a tent outer that you sit inside to keep the wind off. They are a great place for a mountain lunch on Emergency Shelter Practice!
a windy day! It was about £30-£40 for ours and is
well worth it for a bit of comfort on the higher, more exposed days out.
Three simple things you can try to ensure you all have a cracking day out during the Winter.
Bearing all this in mind, we prepped our breakfast and lunch on Saturday and layered up on Sunday to try a new walking route. We have even decided which pork pie is best to take with us - one for a future blog subject!
A previous walk to Greysgarth Monument had led to us happening upon a number of colourful mosaics by the path. A little internet research led to us coming across the Crackpots Mosaic walk - a circuit of about 11.5km reaching to the edge of the moors with about 20 mosaics created to celebrate the local area.
Pics L-R: Sunrise at home; well wrapped up; I told you it was cold!
The day began with an amazing sunrise over our street and the weather stayed pretty nice for the whole car journey. Unfortunately, cloud started to build as we started walking, the wind was a little brisk and the air temperature hovering around freezing! We were all plenty warm enough though and as the air temperature rose slightly, snow began to fall. However, given we were warm enough, this just added to the fun of the day. We decided not to start at the advertised start (this is up a small road to the edge of the moors that we figured would be a bit too icy to drive up - we were proved correct when we got there!). Instead we parked on the roadside near Belford. The Little Chaps were straight on the case with the navigating, picking up our first mosaic (number 13 on the map) and the corresponding mosaic arrow pointing the way to go. As such, we didn't really need a map (although, of course, we took OL298 Nidderdale with us) and just enjoyed the day out, leaving the Little Chaps to figure things out. They tend to thrive on this type of responsibility and it really helps keep them interested and invested in the day
We had intended to make a small diversion to Greygarth Monument. From our start point this is about halfway and would have been an excellent lunch spot. With no view on offer in the low, snowy cloud we decided to press on and have several smaller lunches (only two lunches today with number three back at the car!) so that we could keep moving without getting too cold. In better weather, the monument is a tower that is excellent fun to climb and has a great view. There is also a windbreak shelter to eat in.
Pics L-R: Little Chap#1 and mosaic; winter walking fun; Little Chap#2 and mosaic
Walking in the falling snow made this a real adventure and the Little Chaps had a great day out finding the mosaics and then working out what they were depicting. All mosaics were animals, plants or objects found in the area (even the Roman Soldier!) and led to plenty of discussion. To be honest, the weather would put many people off being outside today (we saw no one!), but for us it really made the day. It felt good to be out in unusual conditions and has helped us remember our winter walking skills (looking for ground that might be icy), refine our layering (may need some new larger waterproofs!) and our lunches, as well as showing Aunty Elizabeth (weekend visit) what a proper winter walk is like.
Pics L-R: Proper winter weather around the highest point of the walk; Little Chap#1 and moo-saic (blaming Aunty Elizabeth for that one); a great way to warm up
This is a great walk that stays mostly low and on good paths so it should remain a good option to try during the rest of the winter. Navigation is easy with the route details and good signage all the way around and it's about an hour drive from Leeds. Wrap up warm and try it!
Route details can be found here
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