I would like my children to grow up being as active and as healthy as possible. Similarly to me when I was their age, they don’t love exercise, unless it’s doing something like football, which they both play. Obviously, with the dog, we do get out for several walks per week, where they will often ride their bikes next to me while I’m walking with Archie. Although not exactly a strenuous exercise, I shouldn’t be greedy as it is still getting out of the house, into the fresh air and keeping mobile.
They have a love/hate relationship with hiking. They love the views, the snacks, and the satisfaction at the end. But they hate walking up the hills. I was introducing them to it slowly, gradually building up the distance and the elevation, maybe taking them out once a month. However, that all stopped when they started playing football. My son, 8, now plays every Saturday and my daughter, now almost 11, plays every Sunday, so it has become difficult to keep up with the habit. School holidays though, does give us a chance to get out and about, they just need a bit of encouragement.
The level they’re at, is where a 5 mile walk, with around 300-400 metres of ascent, is about their happy limit. They could do more (and have), but then the enjoyment diminishes, and I want them to enjoy it. I’ve realised that I’m a bit of an odd one out in taking great enjoyment from pushing myself, physically. Kids don’t want to be worn out, legs throbbing at the end of the day. So, we stick to our limits.
Following my recent trip to the Shropshire Hills, in doing Caer Caradoc and the Lawley, I’ve wanted to go back and explore the other side of the A49, especially as it looked so impressive from atop Caer Caradoc. I took a look at OS Maps and planned out a route from the Carding Mill Valley, up to the trig point at Pole Bank, via the Lightspout waterfall, creating a loop to finish back at the car in 5 miles. If I’m being completely honest, this was also a bit of a recce for future trail runs. I quite fancy doing some fell races, and there’s one called the Stretton Skyline which takes in a fair bit of this area. I wondered how it was underfoot and how easy it would be to navigate.
Parking what3words: drooling.fortunes.comic
Carding Mill is a National Trust site, so the parking and facilities are good. As you enter the valley, just keep moving forwards and the parking spaces become apparent. On the day that we went, there was a little hut, with a lady taking payment for parking as you enter. It wasn’t cheap – £8, but if you’re a National Trust member then it’s free. I have considered joining, but I’m not sure it’s worth my while.
Anyway, once parked up, keep moving up through the valley and you come to a nice looking cafe on the left hand side, followed by some toilets. A quick pit stop and we were on our way. Just beyond the toilets is a path to the left, which heads up to a reservoir. We couldn’t see this on the way out, but did see it on the way back, from higher ground, and it did look pretty. We continued past this, before turning left, heading uphill, following the stream, towards the waterfall. This section was gorgeous. We were climbing but it wasn’t too steep, and it was rocky but sturdy underfoot. But the views and, in particular, the colours which we were surrounding with were spectacular.
If I was to offer one tip for hiking with children, it would be to eat little and often. We’ve tried hiking to around halfway, eating all of our lunch and then continuing on, but they then spend the rest of the walk groggy, and bloated from all the food. Especially if a grandparent comes and all she brings is sweets, biscuits and cookies! I find if you eat little and often, it keeps their energy stores topped up, without overloading. It also offers excuses for mini-breaks during ascents. Part way up the valley, just before the waterfall, we stopped for five minutes to take on some fruit and veg, along with a breakfast bar, before continuing on. This works really well.
We got to the waterfall and couldn’t see where to go next. There is a steep path just to the right, before the waterfall, which is where the path continues on to the Jack Mytton Way.
Once on the main path, it’s a fairly straight line to the trig point at Pole Bank. The kids were flagging a little at this point, but the promise of further snacks once we reached the summit, along with the assurance that the days climbing would then be complete, kept them going a little further. The clag had descended by this point, as did a spot of rain, so the views up at the top weren’t quite as pretty as I’d hoped. It was quite clear to our right, but there wasn’t much to see. The left was where the heart of the Shropshire hills were but, at this point at least, we couldn’t see a great deal.
We took refuge from the wind behind a viewing plate, taking on some further fuel. The kids were pleasantly surprised when I pulled out a flask of hot chocolate. Archie enjoyed his usual boiled egg and boiled sweet potato, and we were back on our way after around a ten minute stop. It was windy with some light drizzle, so I was keen not to hang around for too long in an exposed position. My lad and I stuck our hats on and we retraced our steps back to the road before turning right and descending through the fields of heather.
We did enjoy some pretty views on our way back down, with Caer Caradoc and co. directly in front of us as we headed back towards Carding Mill. We also saw some wild horses, which apparently are very common around here. I love valleys and ridges, with either tall cliffs or steep drops on either side, so I picked a line on the way back which matched the latter. It was steep, but cracking. Would be great to run down it! The kids enjoyed it too, with some bum-shuffling required to get down safely.
We got back to the car, finished our lunch and set off back home. Although not as far (in distance) as some of our outings, Archie was still suitably tired, and enjoyed resting with me in the boot before the journey back.
