Footscape for children

The idea of going on a family walking holiday probably does not occur to most parents with children. Too much of an effort, too boring for the kids, they may think. Well, things are beginning to change, as more and more families are finding out that walking can, in fact, be great fun. On top of that, the growing consciousness about healthier lifestyles and a search for something different has led parents to look at less traditional, more active family holiday ideas. That is why we offer special services for families with children, who are booking holidays with us in increasing numbers.

Since we are based in Dorset and operate exclusively in Dorset, we are able to provide a very personalised and flexible service on most of our scheduled holidays. This means that on our Jurassic Coast and Inland Heritage trails, the daily walking distances can be shortened at either end, since our vehicle is there to drop off or pick up anybody who does not want to do the full number of miles.

We can even organise alternative activities for a part of the day or even the whole day. Such activities include visits to Abbotsbury Swannery (especially in May to July when you can see the baby swans), the Great Dorset Maize Maze (July/August) and the award-winning Monkey World (all year).

Therefore those parents and children who may each have a different degree of interest, endurance or aptitude for hiking, can still enjoy an active footscape holiday together.

Most of our independent hiking tours are also very suitable for children. Our trails along the Jurassic Coast are of particular interest, because there are several safe and beautiful beaches along its length. So instead of just spending day after day on a beach, why not walk part or all of a footscape trail, stopping off for a short swim at those beaches that you cannot resist?

During the last two years several families with children booked holidays with us. Sometimes even very young children had less difficulty walking 8 or more miles a day than their parents. As a result of this experience, we dropped the minimum age on our hiking tours from from 10 to 7.

All members of the family shown in this photo above hiked over 60 miles along our Jurassic Coast trail in six walking days, with one day off in the middle, but still had enough time for beach and pub stops, as well as lots of award-winning Purbeck ice-cream.

We provide a smart “Certificate of Achievement”, including the total number of miles walked, to all children who come on a scheduled or custom walking holiday.

If you would like us to design a custom holiday for your family, based on your particular wishes, then please contact us well in advance, if possible, so that we can fit you into our schedule and find good accommodation for you. Please look at custom holidays for more information.

You might be surprised at how well children can cope with a daily hike. Why not give it a try?

Children who really enjoy walking will be happy on any of our walking holidays. However, here is a list of those that we consider to be especially appropriate for children, the coastal trails being the most popular (have a look at our map to identify them):

Scheduled holidays:
Jurassic Coast and Inland Heritage – flexible walking distances (with our vehicle available all day).

Independent holidays (centre-based):
Purbeck - some walks can be shortened, good beaches, plenty of things to do in the area
Lyme Regis
- a great place for families, most walks can be shortened, beaches on two walking days
Abbotsbury - a popular village for families, with its Swannery and children's farm, coastal and inland walks (some can be shortened)
Weymouth - a popular seaside resort and harbour with lots to do, good beaches, walks can be shortened.

Independent holidays (inn to inn):
Jurassic Coast West and Inland Heritage - you can choose your average daily walking distance and your number of rest days, if any. Children enjoy the experience of discovering a new place to stay each evening.

For our full range of holidays and how we operate, go to holidays 2009 and footscape.