Peak District is perfect place for kids to exercise and learn to love the outdoors
AT Burbage Bridge, our little one Cass sticks her tongue out in concentration.
She’s working out how to get up to the big rock. Options considered, she reaches for a potential foothold, and hauls herself up.
The following: “I did it, Daddy!” is the reward for a risk that has paid off.
A three-year-old has found her feet, and a love of the outdoors is beginning to take hold.
The Peak District is blessed with hundreds of wonderful walking trails.
But children who’d prefer to be sitting in front of Cbeebies have a different idea of “wonderful”.
So, a break in Derbyshire comes with a mission — find walks that the kids will enjoy too.
Burbage Bridge, on the Ringinglow Road between Sheffield and Hathersage, is a perfect starter.
Two branches of a stream trickle under a bridge and uneven, stony ground.
There’s a longer walking path on the eastern side, but for little monkeys, it’s all about clambering over rocks.
This is certainly the case a little further down the Ringinglow Road at Higger Tor.
Here, giant, smooth boulders cluster on the ridge line.
The walk up is through grassy fields of sheep droppings. But it’s soon all about the boulders.
Some work as stepping stones. Some pile on top of each other, forming caves and tunnels to explore.
But the best ones perch on the edge, looking out to the valley below.
Cass gasps. “I can see the whole wide world!” she says, as her big sister, five-year-old Alicia, stretches her arms out wide.
Further south in the pudding- obsessed town of Bakewell, there’s a different kind of walk to tackle.
The Monsal Trail stretches for 8.5 miles along the former Midland Railway line, which closed in 1968.
The trains have gone, and the tracks have been torn up, leaving a well-kept gravel path winding through Monsal Dale.
The fun bits come in the four railway tunnels along the way. These are well lit, but still sufficiently spooky for young kids.
The problem with the Monsal Trail, though, is that it is rather flat and monotonous.
It is better suited to cycling. This is why there are several bike rental outlets along the way.
For two bikeless girls who equate going for a walk with climbing on things, the trail is an unfortunate dud.
Luckily, this is not the case with Padley Gorge.
The adventure starts a few steps from the railway station in Grindleford.
One hop over a stile, and you’re immediately into a prehistoric-looking woodland.
There’s no clearly defined path, which means that decisions have to be made every few minutes.
Follow the stream? Limbo under the fallen tree? Or clamber up the hillside through the gaps in the ferns?
This is far more fun than a neatly laid-out path. Soon the girls are working their way around boggy patches, conquering mossy boulders and using tree roots to help them up steep banks.
Eventually, after sliding down a slope on backsides, the intrepid explorers reach the stream.
Over the years, hundreds of boulders have tumbled into the water. Some act as stepping stones, others create small pools.
It’s time for the shoes and socks to come off. The eldest goes worryingly gung-ho at the stepping stones, but manages to stay upright.
Cass holds Daddy’s hand and goes for a tentative paddle.“It’s really cold,” she shrieks.
“But you’ll get used to it,” Alicia calls out in encouragement, while wobbling her way across the stones.
Padley Gorge runs down from the Longshaw Estate, a National Trust property with plenty of walking trails.
It’s popular dog-walking territory, but is it too tame for budding mountaineers?
At first, it seems as though this might be the case. The paths are well marked and well maintained, perfect for leisurely strolling.
This, however, is only boring if you actually stick to the paths. The girls take an executive decision to use absolutely anything else.
They navigate muddy trenches, and detour through every gap in the woods.
Longshaw’s secret weapon, though, is the number of fallen trees.
They’re left in clearings, and by duck-dotted ponds, largely because they look photogenic.
But fallen trees fulfil much the same role as big, mossy boulders. They’re scrambled all over, and mounted with pride.
The following weekend, when Daddy suggests going for a walk, iPads go down straight away.
The Peak District’s kid-friendly walks have done the trick.
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