Hi, my names Craig.  I work full-time so quality time with the kids is very important to me. I live on the East Coast of Scotland in a little town called Prestonpans with my wife Joanna - the backbone of our family - and our two amazing kids, Faye (nearly 4) and Cameron (18 months).

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Family life is very busy, and days can roll into one. We try never to lose sight of our priorities now in life; our kids. It's super important that we give our kids quality time so we can have fun together, learn together and bond together as a family. Getting out and having adventures in the outdoors, whether they are big multi-days or just playing in the park, gives us that freedom to explore our relationships in a very real relaxed environment (unless, of course, we’re at the top of a mountain and the wind is blowing a hoolie with horizontal rain!).

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We’ve had many adventures as a family, but I’ve also enjoyed taking Faye and Cameron. It became apparent very early after Faye and Cameron joined our family that they love the outdoors, and I found myself bonding with them over this shared passion in a way I never dreamed possible.  Most of our adventures so far have been with Faye but Cameron is starting to catch up on the amount of times together.

Sharing my love of adventure with the kids

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At around twelve months old, Faye completed her First Munro in the Cairngorm area (Munro’s are Scottish Mountains above 3000 ft). By age three, she has completed twenty Munros, including Ben Nevis. We also hiked up Pico Viejo in Tenerife, which has a height of 3,135m and conquered Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain.

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Together we’ve explored and climbed mountains, kayaked, paddle boarded and hiked along beaches. We also love camping together. Our first multi-night camp was on the Isle of Mull on an idyllic campsite based on the West Coast, a stone's throw away from Iona. We packed up and headed on a two-hour drive to Oban to catch the big ferry to Mull. We stayed at was Fidden Farm, a gem of a campsite. The site has a huge field verging onto a white beach looking out to the clear blue sea. We had such a chilled time together there, and Faye met a couple from Aberdeen in the tent beside us. Meeting lots of friendly people willing to spend time with the kids is one of the things I consistently love about our adventures. Every day Faye would go over and see our new friends, and every night Faye would go over and say goodnight, it really warmed my heart to see the interaction.

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We got the ferry to Iona one day, visited the Abbey, and played on the many beaches. I’ll always remember Faye stirring a pot of cheesy pasta on the stove, looking out to the sea. Precious memories were made that will stay with me forever.

Planning and getting out the door

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Getting out on our adventures together always starts way before we even plan what we want to do. Scotland is a beautiful country, but to truly explore the lesser-trodden path, the kids need to be comfortable with longer drives. This is important. We took the kids out in the car from a young age and built up the distance travelled. I had a map I would open when planning, and I knew how far we could go based on Faye’s tolerance for travelling in the car. When Faye was one, we could drive anywhere within a two-hour stretch; anything over, and Faye would get car sick. At three, Faye can now travel more than six hours with stops. If it's longer, then we book a hotel and split the journey.

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When purchasing kit, I find it essential to do a lot of research as this kit will support the family in having great, enjoyable days out. I spent two weeks researching what child carrier to get and tried a few in the shop. It needed to be sturdy and fill me with confidence when hiking, have enough storage room for big days out, and more than anything, Faye and Cameron feel comfortable in it. In the end I settled on the Osprey Pico Plus.

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My advice with any kit is to borrow from a friend if possible so you can try it before you buy. When we were teaching Faye how to paddle board, I purchased three different life vests before I was content and happy with the safest, most important piece of kit for the water. 

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Planning is key to making our adventures a success. It’s important to keep your main goal in mind - for me this is ensuring Faye and Cameron enjoy whatever adventure we are on. It’s safe, and if there is any risk, this is reduced to a manageable level. The one prerequisite to any adventure is if Faye or Cameron (when he is bigger) says they want to stop, then we stop. No questions asked and no pressure to continue.

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I remember we were climbing a Munro called Meall A’ Choire Leith in winter conditions, we were only around twenty minutes to the top of a two-hour hike, and Faye got upset, asking for her mummy and was adamant she wanted to go back to the car. I turned with no regret, and we made our way down. I need to ensure Faye is not pushed into a situation she doesn’t want to be in; this is how we build trust within our relationships.

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On our mountain adventures - where the risk is often higher - I plan nap times, and snack stops, if the weather deteriorates, what’s the plan B? Ensuring someone knows our route and estimated times, having all safety equipment needed, the safest route possible, turnaround times, etc. From a safety perspective, when hiking, we know how to use a map and compass and run two GPS devices at the same time, one to back the other up. I always carry survival shelters, foil blankets, a first aid kit, spare clothes (taking extra in case the kids have an accident) and LED flares. This list is not exhaustive, and there is plenty of advice online.

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As with any plan, things won’t always go right, and we must know that’s ok and make it part of the adventure. Some of our biggest learnings in parenthood come when we face challenges and learn how to overcome them. Personally, I’d say the biggest challenge is getting to understand your kids and when they are up for an adventure or just want to enjoy playing in the back garden. Most other challenges I find are behavioural. For instance, Faye decided halfway up Ben Nevis that she wanted to slide down a banking of snow; unknown to her the banking had a steep cliff edge. She couldn’t understand why daddy wouldn’t let her. When I said no, and she got upset, instead of getting her back in the pack, I sat with her and tried to explain as best I could the reasons why she couldn’t slide down it. Five minutes later, we were happily on our way.

Our biggest adventure

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Myself and Faye had been building our mountain days up for our biggest challenge, climbing Ben Nevis in aid of Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. Our goal was to raise funds and awareness of the great work the charity and hospital do. We also have family who are alive today because of them; this hike was for Owen and Lucy.

Ben Nevis is 1,345 metres tall and is a long climb especially notorious for challenging weather. There were several challenges to overcome, including Faye spending prolonged periods of time in the pack and setting a target for Faye to walk at least 10% of the route. We also had the extra safety and spare kit needed to do this hike safely with a toddler, which added substantial weight to the pack.

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We stayed a couple of days before in a little bothy cottage to get used to our surroundings and allow Faye to settle and enjoy the area after the four-hour journey to get there. It was a beautiful sunny morning in July when we left The Ben Nevis Visitor centre carpark with the challenge in full view in front of us. I had broken the hike into three sections. The first from the car park to the lochan, the second from lochan to the summit plateau, and then the summit itself.

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By mid-morning, we had reached the start of the second section, and Faye had done her little highland dance via Facebook live to celebrate! We had reached the summit plateau by 11.30am and at this point, I was feeling it in the legs. I remember I grunted a little with the effort, and Faye quickly let me know, ‘it’s going to be ok; we’re nearly there.’

My own daughter, at just two years old, motivating me!

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We reached the summit by noon, and we were buzzing. Faye knew she had accomplished something amazing. We spent half an hour at the top, speaking to people and collecting donations. We sat at the peak in sunny, warm conditions. Faye was lapping up the attention from fellow hikers wanting to know what we were doing. I was sitting with an overwhelming feeling of pride and happiness on top of Ben Nevis with my daughter, a feeling I still get emotional thinking about today.

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The hike down was tough, especially on the loose scree. Once we completed it, we treated ourselves to ice cream. We raised over £1500 pounds and completed the hike in seven hours and eleven minutes.

Include our children in our passions

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It’s important to highlight that we, as parents, consciously decided on hobbies that we enjoyed and that made us happy before having kids. Starting a family doesn’t mean our hobbies should stop; we should include our children in our passions and watch them flourish, sharing our love for life and adventure. My love for the outdoors now has a greater meaning than ever before; I get far more enjoyment by sharing them with my children.

The very close bond I have with Faye, I believe, comes from our days together building memories outdoors. (Although Cameron is now getting to the age where he too can join us on slightly more adventurous activities, don’t underestimate the importance of the little adventures in the back garden or such too - they also count!). Our love and attention mould our kids, and the outdoors helps support a positive upbringing. It’s why as a family we will always continue to prioritise our adventures!