Yorkshire Peak 2 Whernside.

So after our 1st peak (Pen-y-Ghent) back in May we got the message through that the "team" were planning to take on the next peak on the list which is Whernside and the only one of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks I hadn't climbed.

Our plan for Pen-y-Ghent had worked well and this one was supposed to be easier to climb so we decided to adopt the same approach. Arrive early and get a head start as we have the youngest child and the rest would catch us up on the climb.

Oh dear oh dear how naïve we were to think that this one would go like the last. Little legs was not a happy camper for the ENTIRE walk and proceeded to moan for pretty much every 100 metres or so while son no 1 decided that walking with his cousin would be sooooo much more fun and raced off ahead and refused the walkie talkie. Did I mention he had been explicitly told not to race off ahead? needless to say there was no cell phone signal for a while to get a message to him to stop where he was and WAIT!

One of the few pictures of the day where he didn't look offended Force Gill Waterfall in background

The slog up the path which runs along the railway line and then up the spine of Whernside isn't massively challenging but it is long and with not many geocaches along the route to make it more interesting for junior it made for hard going!

Jake and cousin miles ahead of us

The main group caught up with us as we were approaching the summit and we all made our way to the trig point to hunker down for lunch. Son no one had a sulk on at this point as I was pretty furious with him for walking ahead of us with no means of communication and his cousins and aunt had to make their way off the hill ahead of us as they had plans for later in the day.

Grumpy Children at Whernside Summit

Finally we started making our way off the summit for the descent and the path down is a killer! steep and rocky, and with some people ascending this way too it was busy. We were fortunate that it was not wet as I can imagine when raining this route is treacherous. Needless to say we had to help Bear with several of the "steps" as they were just too big for his little legs.

Much steeper descent

The way down was arduous with many rest stops for Mr Grumpy face Bear who sat down a lot and cried! Needless to say mummy needed a glass of wine when she got home.

He's smiling here but if you look carefully you can see its through tears!

 From being some of the first on the hill in the morning, we were also one of the last off it our descent had taken so long and there were few cars left at the parking spot when we got back to the car. One of the few positives was that the sun came out.

Glorious Whernside

Don't the Dales look glorious in the sunshine? Both boys finally started to cheer up when we got to Ribblehead Viaduct and they could see the car. They also started being nice to each other which gave them the motivation to get back to the car and a treat of chocolate! So all in all not as successful an escapade as our Pen-y-Ghent adventure but they did it. 2016 has to be the year for them both to conquer the final hill - Ingleborough, however that will have to wait for Jakes leg to heal. But that's another story! Till next time

The boys and Ribblehead Viaduct

Oh dear the blog has been neglected for longer than I realised! A mix of university work and Christmas means I am sadly behind on posts and for this I am sorry :(

But here is a catch up post.

At the end of November we visited the YHA at Boggle Hole after its summer refurbishment. We are so glad we did, it was the most fun we had as a family in ages despite the weather conspiring against us with wind and rain that lasted most of our stay!

The journey to Boggle Hole was an adventure in itself. We had to wait for the boys to finish school for the day and dad to come home from work so by the time we set off it was already dark and the wind and rain were in action big time.

Boggle Hole YHA in the daylight.

So after braving puddles and minor floods we finally drive down the single track road and parked up in the carpark at the top of the hill. Erm... Yeah... You do have to have a little walk down the hill with your gear when you arrive as there is no parking on site but to be honest after we unloaded the car on our arrival we didn't see it again for the rest of the weekend! We were slightly concerned that the youngest would take off like a kite so we weighed him down with some bags and headed out of the car into the lashing rain to commence the walk downhill to the hostel. Luckily mum (me) had packed torches and head torches for everyone so our way was illuminated sufficiently to see our way.

Slightly damp (read soaked through) we walked through the doors to be greeted by friendly faces behind the bar/reception (YAY Bar). Check in was simple and fast and we soon had our gear dumped in our bedroom and coats in the drying room. They we headed downstairs to try the food (even though we had also brought our own).

This hostel is great for adults - did I mention it has a bar? its clean and tidy, has a roaring wood burning fire, a great kitchen and if you can't be bothered cooking they serve breakfast and dinner. They also offer a wicked slice of cake and tea if the afternoons. However for kids this place is on another level, a perfect kiddie paradise.

Where do I start? the whole place is nautical themed with fishing nets, lobster pots and buoys decorating the establishment. The rooms are all named after boats and vessels and there are old stories from newspapers about each one adorning the walls outside each room to tell you about them. There are secret cupboards and peepholes, Davy Jones' locker (laundry chute) books, pirate dress up and best of all you can collect a sheet from reception for a charitable donation of 50p and there are several treasure hunts set up both inside the building (perfect for rainy afternoons) and one outside that takes you on a fairytale adventure. This kept the boys entertained ALL weekend along with the new friends they met while we were there. In this technological age where it can sometimes be hard to drag the kids away from the electronic devices without tantrums etc this place is a life saver. Yes we took the obligatory iPad with us for the kids to play on if boredom kicked in after too much rain but I can say honestly this place kept them so entertained they didn't ask for it our entire stay.

The next morning dawned cold, windy and with a forecast for rain in the afternoon - not a surprise this is the end of November. Preparation was key here, I have a couple of Norwegian friends and a favourite saying of theirs which is very true.

                                  "There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing"

So wrapped up warm we decided to hit the beach in the morning while it was fairly dry as we all wanted to see the famous "Boggle Hole" after which the hostel is named and Jake wanted to hunt for fossils. For those not in the know a Boggle is a little bit like Dobby from the Harry Potter series.

Bear outside the Boggle Hole.

We took bubbles for the boys and buckets to put in any "treasures" we found while scouring the beach. If you are planning a visit please be aware and keep away from the bottom of the cliffs, we saw and heard several quite large rock falls while walking up the beach and had one or 2 near misses where we were glad we were keeping away, even walking 10 metres+ away from the cliffs we were sprayed with odd bits of debris which could have been quite nasty if we were any closer.

Lucky Fossil Finds

Despite the dangers we were lucky enough to find quite a few fossils. Jake found several bits in rather large rocks and was the only family member to come home with a bag heavier than when we arrived on the Friday. Lets just say his walk back up the steep hill we descended on our arrival became something like an army fitness challenge with his rucksack filled with rocks and he was huffing and puffing when he arrived at the top.

Bubbles on the Beach and Rock Hopping

We headed back to the hostel for a late lunch and the boys had a chance to chat to some new friends they made and hunt together for the treasure map clues. This is one of my favourite things with the YHA hostels, that the boys get to meet new friends and be kids with each other in a safe environment trey really did have the best time playing games and running about.

Biscuit Decorating

We finished up our last day doing the outside treasure trail together and some of the other children we had met during our stay joined us with their parents. Another hidden gem! We don't want to spoil it but lets just say there is a part of a fairy story in the woods well worth attempting as its a pleasant surprise, fab for the kids and doesn't really take very long. Bear topped it off though falling off the path into a patch of brambles naturally and we returned to the hostel with a child looking like hes come from a horror story rather than a fairytale. I love that boy its so typical of him!

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it and maybe even inspired you to try something new with the kids. I would totally recommend this place and we will definitely be back for another visit to YHA Boggle Hole in 2016.
We booked direct through the website and stayed in a family room that sleeps 4. http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/boggle-hole

Malham Cove In the Sunshine

Sorry the blog has been quiet for a while, we have been visiting Grandma and Grandad in South Africa and the internet is not quite what it is in the UK. Also I have a new PC with windows 10 and cannot for the life of get photos to upload with their internet browser so have had to switch again!

I will do some posts about some of the stuff we got up to while we were there over the next week or so but for now I wanted to write about the visit we took to Malham Cove as a last hurrah for the boys before they go back to school and because it was actually a change to go somewhere in the sunshine.

I have to say we are so lucky to live near such a beautiful area. I have many fond memories of the Yorkshire Dales and living in Leeds means we are less than an hour away from the traditional "Gateway to the Dales" Skipton.

So Sunday morning the sun shone and as we had a leisurely - if chaotic breakfast, we all packed our rucksacks with drinks and snacks and in Bears case an optimistic Frisbee. The GPS was loaded with maps of the area and geocaches and off we went.

An hour later we were pulling into the overspill parking field which was a more than reasonable £4 for the day and off we set towards the Cove.

No trip was complete for us without a moan by at least one of the boys and on this occasion it was the youngest who wanted to stop every 10 steps for a drink, a rest or a snack. Nearing the final gate for the cove Bear through his rucksack on the floor in disgust and sat down while Dad and Jake wandered further on pretending they didn't know him. As I hung around trying to cajole him the last 100 or so yards, a family with two young ones of their own took pity on me and their lovely daughter handed him a packet of sweets which made him recover immediately. In an uncommon fit of good manners Bear politely said thank you very much ( I do try to instill my children with good manners but my youngest seems to have a will of his own which can make him unpredictably contrary).

Little Monster loves the troll Bridge

Glorious Day at Malham Cove

After the impromptu sweet stop we continued the walk to the head of the cove and sat down for our snack. At this point my husband began to regret his lack or preparation and tried to cadge a drink and snack from the boys who were reluctant to share with him on the principle that he was disorganised.

The walking boots purchased at the beginning of the year from Mountain Warehouse are still going strong and having just had both sets of feet measured for school shoes I'm pretty sure they will both get use out of their current boots till the end of the year.

Rest stop

With the pit stop finished and they boys recharged it was time to tackle the steps up the side of the cove and head up to the top towards the first geocache of the day. The boys thought it was great fun jumping off the rock formations and enjoyed the informal lesson on geological rock formations and ice ages.

Son no 2 

Son no 1

After some jumping about, throwing a frisbee that Bear had brought with him, among other things and hunting down the geocache without been spotted we plotted the route back round to the car and opted for the much quieter walk through Dry Valley up towards the tarn and then back down towards the cove and approaching the village via the road.

The gorgeous Dry Valley

This curious herd of cows/bulls approached us 

So after a perfect day in the sunshine and a few miles on the pedometer, we made it back to the village for a well deserved ice cream and an hours drive back home. The kids had a perfect day and managed to burn off some energy before they head back to school on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading.

Climbing Pen-y-ghent

We have been planning a summit attempt on Pen-y-ghent since the beginning of the year when we received an email from a friend asking us if we would like to join them. The idea was that we would all meet in Horton-in-Ribblesdale in the morning and have a leisurely hike up the fell at our own pace. No racing, no time limits just good old fashioned family and friends time.

I've always being slightly concerned that our youngest wouldn't make the distance as he has only just turned 4, he was the youngest on the trip and to get him to walk 8 miles or so was always going to be a challenge, however we have had him in "training" this year by getting out and about geocaching and planning routes that got steadily longer and steeper.

Our eldest child, Jake is also going to use this walk to go for his first hike away badge at cubs so he was prepared to lead the way and packed his rucksack accordingly.

Be prepared!

 48 hours before we were due to set off, our first disaster struck - the weather forecast called for high winds and rain! Never a good mix with kids so to avert a crisis it was agreed we would delay 24 hours and hike on the Sunday as the forecast was better. This proved to be a good decision as despite the sun only occasionally peeking out from the clouds the wind and rain stayed away to make for more favourable walking conditons.

So off we set bright and early and having misjudged the amount of time it would take us to get there we arrived... 1 hour early! As we had the youngest team member with us we figured it would be wise to set off early and get a head start on the others knowing that they would have no problems catching us as you're only as fast as your slowest team member and we weren't in a rush. The idea was for us all to enjoy the trip so we had always anticipated it would take us a few hour to summit. We had the GPS with us and planned to grab the geocaches that were on the route as they made perfect pit stops for little legs to have a rest.

 We encountered a couple of seasoned walkers at the start of the path who expressed surprise that we were heading up with Bear and they wished us luck . Within the first 1/2 hour little legs was moaning about wanting to go home. Not a good start to the day.

"I want to go home, I'm tired now"

However the first geocache of the day was a couple of hundred feet away so we went to find that and stopped for him to have his first snack of the day.

My eldest son was with his buddy from school and they wee having a good old yomp all over the place running up and down the path and generally lapping us so we whipped out the walkie talkies to ensure they didn't get too far ahead or stray off the path without yelling the hill down.

On the path to Pen-y-ghent

Spot of scrambling

A couple of more stops up the hill to rest youngest ones legs and we were ready to hit the scramble up the "nose" of the hill. Some of these steps aren't really designed for little legs and with a couple of steep drops that head straight back down we stuck close together and gave a leg up or two to Bear as his little legs couldn't quite make a couple of the steps.

At this point the going was slow, but we were all still plodding on. This bit near the summit is a bit of a bottle neck and we were worried that we were going to start holding up the fellow walkers that were regularly catching us up. We needn't have worried as with no exceptions when they encountered our little man they all stopped to say hello and to give him lots of praise and encouragement. They were so patient, giving us plenty of time to manoeuvre Bear up the slopes and he loved speaking to everyone that stopped to talk, and congratulate him on making the summit.

Quick rest stop before the final slog

Heading up up up

As we looked below us after the final step up we could see our friends below us on their final climb. It had taken us about 3 hours to reach the summit and as we slowly hiked towards the trig point our friends (and their kids) caught us up and we all sat and had lunch together at the trig.

Panoramic shot on top of Pen-y-ghent

After a hearty lunch which we had to share with Bear - he'd eaten most of his on the walk up and he decided ours looked yummy we had the obligatory group shot and set off down via Hull Pot which our little man had been talking about going to see for days.

Group Shot at the top!

So summit conquered and its down the mountain via Hull Pot. Disaster strikes and Bear trips over his own feet and faceplants. A few tears and a couple of cuddles and the promise of some sweets in my pocket and we are back on track to continue the descent.

Now we are all together as a group the kids have seperated into a mini group and are running about jumping over ditches and bogs and generally have a great time together, while the adults have a catch up chat.

As we approach Hull Pot the others decide we will all go have a peek into what is apparently one of the largest open holes in England! We also have a travel tag from Mountain Warehouse whose mission is to get photographed at geocaches so we took him along for a picture (Hull Pot is an Earthcache).

Looking into Hull Pot

Mountain Warehouse travel tag visiting

The final leg was a leisurely stroll back to the starting point and the local pub for a well earned refreshment. Although the older children swore they weren't tired at all, Bear did say his legs were tired but after the initial whine at the start of the hike he had a fun time which he really enjoyed. 8.6 miles in total and the walking boots we've been breaking in all year did the job perfectly.

The boys at the trig point

* Sorry 1 of the boys is shaded out - he doesn't belong to me :)

The joy of walking boots and what is on your doorstep?

Keeping your little ones entertained is hard work.

If mine could, they would spend hours playing minecraft, watching videos of minecraft on youtube or watching Phineas & Ferb on TV. As the worst mum in the universe - a title I have earned because I limit the usage and access to electronic devices. I have to find other ways to keep my little darlings busy, that doesn't involve the house resembling a war zone or bomb site. See examples below.

The books didn't want to be on the shelf

Apparently the Dinosaurs had an adventure

So off we go for another outdoor adventure. The weather wasn't fabulous so we stayed close to home, but it gets us out of the house and doing something a little more physical. This is where planning also comes in. I've found through experience that when walking with kids its worth the money to invest in a pair of walking boots for them.

When its muddy or wet you can guarantee their feet are going to get wet if they are wearing shoes or trainers. Puddles in case you didn't know, have a magnetic attraction for little feet and wellies while fine for splashing around in puddles and mud, I have found that they aren't very comfortable for little feet when walking over any distance they tend to slop on the feet and rub leading to very unhappy kids. (I learnt this the hard way with my eldest) As soon as i invested in a pair of walking boots the level of moan dropped considerably and  he could walk a lot further than I expected.

Walking boots for kids don't have to be expensive. Lets be honest you don't want to be paying a fortune for a pair of boots that won't fit them for long. I've also found that you can get away with up to a size bigger with a decent pair of thick socks. Mountain Warehouse do a great range for small feet with the added bonus that for really small feet they fasten with velcro so you don't have to worry about constantly unfastened boot laces. The youngest's boots cost me £14.99 and the eldest's were £19.99  for this pair if memory serves.

See? Another reason why our geocaching name is Muddy Monsters.

So what did we get up to to get the boots muddy? We didn't have to go far. We jumped into the car (now also muddy) and  headed into the nearby town of Guiseley. We hunted for clues in and around the town centre and came across an area we didn't even know was here, Guiseley Wells. Apparently the spring is the reason people settles in the area and it is mentioned as being a settlement area since Saxon times and is mentioned in the Doomsday book.

Typically of the 100's of pictures I got not one
has both boys with eyes open. 

We then headed out into the countryside to find tranquil fields right on our doorstep. A deserted pond and friendly muggle horses which followed us across the field. On this occasion it didn't result in the youngest having a melt down. He was clearly in a better frame of mind today. There are tons of footpaths right on our doorstep, which provide endless opportunities for fun with the kids. Many of the urban ones run near train lines (safely fenced off) and what young kid doesn't like to see a train race past? as well as seeing wildlife and finding treasure. We enjoyed our day our treasure hunting despite the lack of sunshine but in the words of my wise friend "There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing"

The walking boots were purchased by myself and I have received no incentive for my comment's or review of them.

Till next time x

What To Do With A Moaner!

So today we went for a walk.

Normally this wouldn't pose that much of a problem, as we have the GPS preloaded with geocaches to keep the boys entertained on the route. Only this time it didn't.

We have been invited by friends to walk up Pen-y-Ghent in May as a family group, so one of the reasons for the walk was to ensure that the youngest Muddy Monster could cover the distance and we thought we would start with a local 2-3 mile walk that wasn't too arduous to "break him in" gently. He has covered this distance before with no problem and in fact walked further over steeper terrain last weekend!

Elder Muddy Monster was dragged away from his tech to accompany us - although I have no doubt he is quite able to jog up the hill when it comes time and he soon proved why we are called Muddy Monsters by promptly getting mud pretty much everywhere including in his eye, within 5 minutes of hitting up the bridle path.

There is a good reason why we are the Muddy Monsters

So the first mistake I made was letting my lovely husband get Bear ready. This resulted in no hat or gloves to start the walk and as it's only about 4°C then the moaning started pretty much as soon as we left the car. To distract him I put him in charge of the GPS to find the "treasure" boxes and this did help to curb the whining for a while. However after 2 geocaches it started up again, not helped by the fact that the 2 caches we had found were soggy log books in film canisters not capable of holding any swaps. Next we tried distraction with a pine cone but this was too prickly so in the end we settled on a stick with various branches just like big bro was carrying.

Jake demonstrating stick antlers and mud.  

This was working a treat and distracting Bear from his various gripes about being tired/cold/wanting to go home until daddy made the fatal mistake of throwing the stick away. This resulted in us then taking about half an hour to walk across one field due to tears, runny noses, more tears because of the runny nose, an inferior replacement stick and to add insult to injury all the noise attracted the attention of the resident horses in the field and naturally came to investigate who was getting tortured, thus resulting in more offence taken and tears at the fact these equine monsters dare follow us and investigate our rucksack!

Equine Stalkers!

So we can take a couple of lessons from today's disaster of an expedition. Double check your other half has dressed your little muddy monster in suitable attire for a yomp. Don't let them chuck away the stick that said muddy child is happily entertaining himself with. Give them something to do to on the walk and finally if all else fails... Offer to walk ahead and retrieve the car and double back to pick them up to give your ears a rest!

  

The Search for Old Jacks House

Ahhhh Staithes...

I have kind of fond memories of this place. I first visited when I was at middle school on a residential trip and stayed in the cabins at the top of the hill. The cabins are still there but I am not sure if they are still used as a site for kids outdoor adventures. We crabbed in the harbour, spent time in Whitby and walked to Sandsend nearly getting cut off by the tide in the process. That was 26 years erm... several years ago.

Since having muddy monsters of my own, I have been tortured subjected to a variety of children's TV programs to view, a recent one is a CBeebies creation called Old Jack's Boat, which is filmed on location in Staithes. The youngest muddy monster being 3 years old quite likes watching this program and was very excited to hear that we could possibly visit Old Jacks house - if we could find it.

Having checked out the geocaching map we discovered there was also a rather lovely multi-cache in Staithes ,which required us to explore off the beaten track, round some of the old footpaths to gather information and find the final spot. This served a dual purpose - more of a chance of finding Old Jack's house by wandering about and the incentive of finding treasure if case we failed.

If any of you are familiar with Staithes you will know that access to the village is very limited and parking is at the top of a very steep hill with a yomp down to the sea (and back up again to get your car) so i have to give brownie points to the youngest muddy monster, Bear who traipsed up and down the road and around the many footpaths without complaint, no mean feat for a 3 year old.

We headed straight down to the harbour front and worked our way across the village and eventually back up to the top of the hill. Our first stop was Captain Cooks cottage where he lived as an apprentice and discovered his love of the sea.

Not Old Jacks House but it was Captain Cooks

 On the harbour front we discovered this art installation. Neither boy quite knew what to make of it and Jake found then "scary". Bear wanted to know what was in the girls bag.

The boys weren't sure what to make of these

 There is a geocaching clue facing the sea, just around the corner of the bench.

Harbour front

 Barometer clue in the wall think it needs checking as the time was wrong and the weather was more "stormy".

another clue.

 We finally found all the clues needed for the geocache when a kindly gentleman overheard us discussing where "Old Jack's House" could possibly be and he pointed it out to us. Its actually situated on the rather steep "Cowbar Nab" but the boys had no problem rushing up there to see it in close up.

Old Jacks House!

Outside Old Jack's

Not the real Old Jack and Salty I'm afraid.

Outside the wonderful Lifeboat station Jake was a bit gutted it was closed.

 We spotted this lovely Noah's Ark artwork above a garage near the lifeboat station.

Artwork

Staithes

So that was our wonderful afternoon in Staithes. We found Old Jack and Salty's abode and discovered all the clues for the geocache by having a lovely stroll around the old houses of Staithes. We will leave the collecting of the actual cache for another time and the tide was in which would have hindered our path to the treasure somewhat. We will have to visit again.

A Morning In Whitby.

So... we have left home for the weekend while Mr MM is off practising his parallel turns and "working" on a ski trip while I have escaped to Whitby for the weekend with the boys.
After nearly getting blown off the cliff tops at the Abbey yesterday, today we have ventured down to the seafront to try a spot of geocaching. for those of you that don't know its basically treasure hunting with a GPS. There aren't that many in Whitby anymore but the few that are there are great fun. First up was one called The Hobbit. you won't know why its called that until you get get to the last set of co-ordinates.

This is where First set or co-ordinates takes you.

                     
We probably wouldn't have discovered some parts of Whitby without geocaching and that goes for a lot of other places we have visited too.
After starting here we had a walk out towards the harbour walls. The closer we got towards the sea the less protected from the elements we were and I did consider ducking into the local Mountain Warehouse shop for some climbing rope to attach the boys to so they didn't take off.
Here are a few pictures of our wander around the new town side of Whitby.

Boys wanted to visit Captain Cook Museum but it was closed.

Half the beach had blown onto the road and it wasn't even 11am.

Taking shelter in the Bandstand.

Choppy Seas

Checking out the Lifeboat.

After our wander around the old and new parts of the town of Whitby we headed up to the cliff top as the boys wanted to check out the whalebone arch and Captain Cook statue (Free parking here as well as other parts of Whitby till 1st March). This also resulted in a million questions directed at me about where the whalebone arch came from, what it was and questions on the life and times of Captain Cook! I managed to dredge most of the information from the dark recesses of my brain that weren't busy with ensuring the kids were kept safely attached at ground level and not flying through the air like the umbrella that managed to photo bomb my arch picture!
For those who wish to know the whalebone's are the second set to be displayed at the top of the West Cliff after the first set were deemed unsafe due to the weathering that has taken place over the years. The first set were a gift in 1963 from a shipping company in Norway to mark Whitby's whaling past and came from a 113 ton fin whale caught in the Antarctic. They were removed in the 1990's and replaced in 2002. The new whalebone's came from one of Whitby's twin towns - Barrow, Alaska and are from a Bowhead whale caught by native Inuit.

Whalebone Arch with Whitby Abbey in background.

The Boys trying to keep their hats on by Captain Cook.

Looking stormy.

After our adventure in Whitby gathering the final clues for The Smugglers Quest geocache situated in town it was off to see if our maths was correct and to see if we could find Ground Zero. I am happy to say our maths was indeed correct and the final co-ordinates were attained and the log book signed.

Goodbye Whitby. you have been windy but fun.

If you want to know more about geocaching check out www.geocaching.com its free and a great way to get kids out in the fresh air walking.