We’d been planning a quick escape for a month or so: the gift of a night away for the girls with the grandparents and 24 hours of freedom for us to escape to the hills! We picked Moel Siabod, just south of the Snowdon massif as our choice. The aim was to walk in late one afternoon and wild-camp up at Llyn-y-Foel (the small lake 750ft below the summit of Moel Siabod), then ascend the Daear Ddu ridge to the summit in the morning.

Well, all went to plan  except  for a couple of minor points, our  idyllic  wild-camp spot at the lake turned out to be a boggy quagmire and the warm sunny weather didn’t quite materialise as the Met-office forecast promised. Never the less, the walk-in was beautiful and dramatic. We ended up camping high up on a flat patch of grass on the ridge itself and as we climbed through the morning clag up the ridge, we were treated to a brief cloud inversion. For 5 minutes we could have been on top of Everest, with nothing but cloud all around below our feet!

Thanks to a 6am wake up call, we had the mountain to ourselves that morning and we even found a geocache right on the summit (more on geocaching later…).  A speedy descent back through the cloud got us back to the car by 10am and we were back at the grandparents in time for Sunday lunch. A real mini-adventure in under 18 hours!

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Outdoor in Friedrichshafen was discovering that Camelbak have a range of kids products. I already knew they had a Kids Mini Mule as a friend of mine had been raving about one her son had been given. However they also have a stripped down hydration only (no storage) rucksack called the Skeeter which is ideal for young children to take out on their bike when you don’t really want them to carry much else, they can be independent and sip away on their Camelbak hose without battling to get a bike bottle out of a cage or stopping to ask for a drink.

Camelbak are best known for their bike rucksacks with integrated “hydration systems” but they also have a novel drinks bottle; called the Better Bottle it has the same style of Big-Bite, spill proof valve as you find on the bike rucksacks but this time attached to a normal drinks bottle.

The other unique feature of the Better Bottle is you don’t need to tilt it or squeeze it to drink from it, you just bite and sip. When you aren't using the bottle you can fold the bite valve down to lock it off and with the lid off it all comes apart easily to clean. It is one of those products that wasn’t initially designed with children in mind but actually it is really practical for children to use.

Well we finally made it out to Friedrichshafen: to Europe’s  largest  outdoor equipment and clothing trade show this month. And what a show….It’s huge, with 8 NEC sized halls full of the latest outdoor gear and clothing. We spent two full days up and down the aisles of the show, looking for fantastic kid’s clothing and equipment as well as those unique products that you just can’t find anywhere! The heat was unbearable and we felt as though we’d climbed a couple of munros by the end, but it was a hugely succesful trip.

We’ve since spent the last two weeks talking to suppliers and organising delivery of some fantastic new product for both this year and next: We’ve got a whole new range of sandals coming as well as some terrific kids bike clothing. We’ll have the brilliant kids’ Camelbak hydration products (that’s bottles, bladders and rucksacks) and some new child carriers. We’ve also got a real scoop on a couple of exciting new activities specifically for kids that’ll be brilliant year-round fun outdoors…but we’re keeping those under our hat for the next 2 weeks!

There’s a whole load of new products coming from our existing suppliers with new colours, exciting fabrics and some great ideas, so watch this space in the next couple of weeks!

Rebecca.

It was another one of those daft ideas  dreamt  up whilst  driving  to work…canoe from as close to the source of the Thames as possible down to home in Goring. The challenge was that I only had two and half days to get it done: a distance of about 70 miles. The furthest I’d paddled before was about 10 miles (solo), so I’d no idea how 70 miles in a short period of time would feel. It was also a great opportunity to try out our new Wenonah Prospector canoe and put it through its paces.

Anyway, I took the video camera along for the ride and tried to keep a video diary of the trip. I hope you enjoy it!

Simon.

I’ve just been reminising with good friend of mine about a mad spur of the moment camping trip we went on last year. It was this time of year, beautiful weather and the  school holidays were fast approaching. As all our kids were under school age we decided to go the next day to make the most of the “peace”.

This is the mad bit, we (three Mums) took our children – all seven of them, between 6 months and just three years of age away camping! We didn’t set out sites too high, we chose a campsite 20mins away that was well provisioned and had an outdoor pool. For dinner we decided to keep it simple.  For those with teeth the menu was  fish and chips from the local shop and for those without just their regular  baby food mush.  

We kept the kit to a minmum, two tents, one cooker, sleeping bags and mats (  most of the children had  kids sleeping  bags and some of the babies had buggy cosys that converted to sleeping bags), head torches, swimming costumes, cuddly toys…      

The highlights of the  trip included watching the kids get so excited when the tents went up and seeing the older ones race around in PJs ecstatic that they were having a night  away with their friends. The hardest part  was trying to get the kids to sleep, we ended up with a few asleep the tents, one asleep in the car and the rest walked in their pushchairs until they gave in. Once we were sure they had well a truely dropped off we bundled all the outliers  into the tents, zipped the doors shut and opened a bottle  of wine!

Were we nuts? Probably, but  we all  had a great time. We are planning another trip this year, it will be easier as all the children are walking now  and maybe if we stay two nights this time we’ll reap the benefit an early bedtime for the kids on the second night!

It’s that time of year again, our summer sale has started!

We need to make room for all the winter stock which will be arriving soon, even though this afternoon with the sun beating down on us winter seems a lifetime away. So were offering some  great discounts on Patagonia Kids summer wear, T-shirts, board shorts, sun hats.. Julbo sunglasses,  Keen kids Sandals, Sprayway kids fleeces, Vaude and Deuter rucksacks, sleeping bags  and loads more.

Have a look and snap up a bargain!

Petzl’s new kids climbing helmet, the Picchu  has just arrived and they’ve brilliantly designed it to comply with the safety requirements for both climbing and cycle use. So you get two helmets for the price of  one and it’s great value at just £34.95!

The Picchu comes in two funky colours, lime green or cherry red and it’s easy to adjust the chin strap and headband to fit. Being from Petzl it goes without saying that the helmet is head torch compatible, but also Petzl have included a  Signal rear light with this helmet. The Signal is a small red light which has flashing and constant modes and there is an attachment point at the rear of the Picchu helmet, it is great for extra visibility on a bike.  

The helmet is targeted for kids aged three to eight years of age, to fit a head circumference 48 – 54 cm. If you’re interested in getting one it is worth while measuring your kids’ head as although an age range is handy the size of children’s heads can vary massively (measure for just above the eyebrows and back round the largest part of the head).

So with protection from the Picchu,  and the Petzl Ouistiti or Simba childrens full body harnesses and the weather staying as gorgeous as it is today (fingers crossed)  your kids are ready to become buddying rock jocks this summer.

We hit a milestone last weekend we plucked up the courage to take our girls (Lucy almost 2 and Ivy almost 4) on their first overnight canoe trip. It was a huge success. Knowing the limited amount of time we could keep our youngest happily babbling within the confines of a canoe we kept the trip short and sweet paddling four miles downstream on the upper reaches of the Thames from Radley Bridge to Rushey Lock campsite and back up stream the next morning for a pub lunch.
 
The girls had a great time; we saw a kingfisher, countless ducks and swans and cows splodging in the river. The topary toad at Rushey Lock was very popular 'NO'... you can't on ride it girls'�.
 You go through one lock on route which was fairly manageable with one of us operating the lock and hanging on to one child and one in the boat restraining the other child! The grab handles on the back of the kid's lifejackets were very useful.
 
As ever putting up the tent was a major thrill for the kids as well as crawling in and out of sleeping bags until late at night. The next morning Lucy was so shattered she slept all the while we paddled back up to Radcot.
 
This trip was quite a breakthrough for us as Ivy was less than happy to be in a canoe last summer but this year she's loving it and has her own tiny paddle. As usual Lucy followed her sister's lead hopped straight into the boat without a moment's hesitation. It was a great trip and we'll be planning more very soon.
 
Kit list:
We took one barrel and just about squeezed all our sleeping bags, some nappies, the MSR cooker and pans and cooking stuff in.

The tent, first aid kit, head torches and spare clothes (lots of fleece as it was quite cold at night) went in a 50 L dry bag which the girls then sat on in the boat.

We made it as easy as possibly to sort out dinner by preparing a mix of cous-cous before we left so we only needed to add water and dinner was ready in minutes. Breakfast was bacon sandwiches.

Safety kit, we took one throw line, we both have buoyancy aids and the Lucy wore the Baltic Bambi Baby Lifejacket (the grab handle was very useful in getting her in and out of the boat), Ivy wore the Baltic Print kids lifejacket.

Other useful bits, sun cream, teddy bears, snacks and a bath duck on a length of string kept the girls happy for hours towing it behind the boat.

                                           
Useful contacts:
http://www.swanhotelradcot.co.uk You can launch canoes from the island with permission of the landlord, who was very friendly. The do a nice pub lunch too.
http://www.visitthames.co.uk   Gives you all the contact information for the lock keepers along the Thames.
http://www.bcu.org.uk The British Canoe Union, everything you want to know about canoeing the UK.

Skiing with young children is great fun, we’ve found a few gizmos that can make it easier for parents and even more enjoyable for your kids!
 

Children sometimes get frustrated trying to control their skis; the 'Edgie Wedgie' makes it simpler for them to hold the snow plough position and come down the slopes safely. Often used by ski schools to aid teaching, the edgie wedgie connects the ski tips together and is perfect to help young kids learn to ski or provide a bit of help when they tire towards the end of the day.

If your kids just like to face down the slope and accelerate into the distance you might want to consider a ski harness! Usually a simple rucksack style chest harness with one or two reins, the ski harnesses are great for young kids, either to give them that little bit more confidence or to try and control and slow them down!

At the end of a long day up the mountain it's a familiar sight to see happy but tired little ones staggering back with ski boots slopping around their feet, skis clutched haphazardly across their body and poles dragging behind them.   If this sounds like one of your kids, checkout the ski and pole carrier. Designed specifically for kids, it keeps skis and poles firmly together and is combined with a shoulder strap to make them easy to carry. Tried and tested by parents living in the Alps and they love them.

Just received lots of boxes from Annecy, it’s the new range of kids Patagonia clothing, yippee!

The thing I love about receiving a Patagonia shipment is you open the boxes and the first thing that hits you is the gorgeous colours, all with exotic names. This season there is a lot of “claret red”,  ”deep water” and “tender greens” – I love it. So there’s been some late nights loading product (we’re still one step behind our forward planning schedule!) but it’s all up now live on the site and there’s more to come in October.

Check out the down vest, new for this year, it’s my fave bit of the new kit.