Ten best walks for kids

Walking with children is not really walking at all. Most walks devised by adults demand linear progression from A to B. Children, however, are programmed to meander in circles while looking for sticks. This makes for a clash that may only be resolved by bribery. So, when you set off for a family walk of any length, take chocolate or sweets. Then pack spare socks (children get wet feet on bone-dry days) and plasters (someone always falls over). Dispense treats at prudent intervals – and let the children take the photos.

A theme, or goal, helps to get everyone excited. Here are 10 of the best easy walks, with themes you can adapt and use anywhere, and which should interest even the most reluctant of mini-hikers.

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1 Fairytales

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/antony

If the children have seen Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, released last month, now take them on location to show them where it was filmed, at Antony House in Torpoint, Cornwall, six miles west of Plymouth. There are wonderful walks in the grounds, and until April 9 there is an Easter White Rabbit’s trail around the gardens.

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2 Animals

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: www.zsl.org

Whipsnade Zoo is an hour north of London and set in 600 acres. The huge site combines excellent animals (including tigers, rhinos, elephants and lemurs in a walk-through enclosure) with some decent strolls and lovely views. Take a picnic, let the children choose what to see, and they’ll soon be racing off ahead (watch out for the odd car on internal roads). There’s even a sightseeing train round the park when you get tired.

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3 Sticks and stones

Suitable for: Everyone, although buggies will struggle
Further details: Featured in Jarrold Short Walks: The Lake District (£6.99); www.visitcumbria.com/cm/butterm.htm

Walking round Buttermere in the Lake District is a perfect introduction to the Lakes for children. The 4.5-mile loop has mountain views but is on the flat, and there are lots of spots for picking up sticks and learning to skim stones on the lake. Even better, there’s a refreshment van halfway round and divine Syke Farm ice cream at the end of the road. Come early on good days – the parking gets hellish.

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4 Glasshouses

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: www.glasgow.gov.uk

Children love to explore tropical hothouses, and the Glasgow Botanic Gardens boast the spectacular Kibble Palace glasshouse, now fully restored. More energetic families can then walk on to the Kelvingrove Museum to check up on Sir Roger the elephant.

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5 Birds of prey

Suitable for: Older children; some spots are hilly
Further details: “Walking with Raptors” is in the excellent Adventure Walks for Families in and Around London, by Becky Jones and Clare Lewis (Frances Lincoln, £8.99); www.chilternsaonb.org

The red kite, of 6ft-wingspan fame, has made a spectacular return to the UK – there are now more than 200 pairs in the Chilterns. You can see them from the M40, but entice your children out of the car by promising a closer look. Alternatively, try a 3-mile kite-themed walk through raptor country from Christmas Common in Oxfordshire.

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6 Wild paddling

Suitable for: Older children
Further details: Find this and other wild paddling spots in Wild Swimming, by Daniel Start (Punk Publishing, £14.95)

The wild swimming craze is big with adults – now try it on the little ones by visiting a safe paddling spot on a sunny day. A short walk along a bridleway in rural Houghton, Hampshire, leads to a wonderful early summer pool.

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7 Rockpools

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: This and other top rockpooling spots can be found in Best British Beaches, by Miranda Krestovnikoff (Pavilion, £12.99); www.visitpembrokeshire.com

It’s easy to lure children for a seaside walk by promising them rockpools (remember to take nets and buckets). Remote Abermawr, near Fishguard, has good swimming and rockpools, plus at low tide you can see a submerged prehistoric forest just offshore. Unbeatable.

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8 Piers

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: www.essex-sunshine-coast.org.uk

Piers are absolutely irresistible. The best offer candyfloss, funfairs and 2p slot machines. Park a long way from the pier along the seafront, and make it the visible goal at the end of a blustery walk. Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex is a perfect seaside resort for this – it has the pier, lots of parking, a sandy beach for bucket-and-spade diversions and fish and chip shops.

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9 Ice cream

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: www. marineices.co.uk

A walk up lovely Primrose Hill in north London will appeal to older children if combined with a visit to nearby Camden Market, and it also offers the chance for A-list celebrity spotting. Marching to the top of the hill tires out little ones, but offers wonderful views over London. Once down again, march on to Marine Ices on Haverstock Hill, which sells its legendary ice creams from the shopfront on sunny days.

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10 Harry Potter

Suitable for: Everyone
Further details: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/
w-lacockabbeyvillage

Older children whine about walking but will not be able to resist a Harry Potter film location. The National Trust’s Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire also has adult appeal (the picture-postcard village of Lacock is a great place to wander around, and it’s where Cranford is filmed). The abbey itself has wonderful grounds, and Harry Potter scenes were filmed in its medieval interior.