 A is due at the end of September and I'm figuring 6 months and then onto some well trodden paths in the lakes but I would like to hear other peoples experiences for walking and camping, for example what age, what times of the year and the type of places you went. Any kit recconmendations would be good too.
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Ian
When it warms up next summer it should be sound to venture out for the walks. You, yourself will be a lot more knackered for, unless you have a brill baby who sleeps through the night, you will not have the energy of before
I would not hold out hoping to camp the first summer. Am serious about youngsters staying awake whilst it is still light outside (especially if you have a yellow inner tent like me), especially if you are in a camp site with other children whose noise will carry until they go to bed & thus your toddler not getting a full night's sleep
In the Lakes I did a lot around Place Fell's lower paths (Ullswater from Glenridding)
As for kit; just wear your old stuff as the kid will make it dirty enough by burping or dropping food onto you
Enjoy it!
charles
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Thanks for that Charles. I suppose everyone is going to have to wait till next summer before it warms up.
The energy levels are quite worrying for me as I'm a keen runner.
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 We started each of our little buggers camping from the age of two months. You're right, Charles proper noisy but by 'eck they've loved it ever since. If you're looking for a child carrier the Vaude Jolly Comfort is the best that I've tried compared to Karrimor/Vango, Little Life, and MacPac. Try 'em all though and don't settle for anything less than works for both you and the nipper. My Max The Cannibal screemed blue murder in all but the Vaude.
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 Ian,
Lightweight backpacks are now a thing of the long and distance past!!!!!!
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 Agreed Cruxter. After borrowing a couple of child carriers, which showed us how useless an ill designed cheapy was, we went for a MacPac Vamoose. Bought the extra head support too. The child will go to sleep in the carrier, and it's difficult to sleep without some sort of head support. If at first the pack on its own seemed heavy, its weight soon became irrelevant, and it's sturdy construction and massively padded hipbelt welcomed. Of course we didn't use the Vamoose from the start - you can't put them in such a thing until a certain age. The real find was what we used initially, a Huggababy sling. This worked brilliantly, and adapted to the babies changing size. It puts the baby right next to Mum where they can both see each other. I don't know why anybody would use anything else for the first few months. Brilliant. John
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 another vote for the Vaude Jolly Comfort
both my kids were put in this with no probs whatsoever. Has a detachable rain/sun cover, can be set up to stand on the ground with child still inside (thus aiding feeding). Both mine were so comfortable they used to fall asleep in it
walking with a child on your back is tough at first but you do get used to it and the feeling of taking of the rucksack after walking a few miles with it on is pure heaven! Its like floating on air!
Oh and PS, if you start walking when the baby is still very young (up to about 6month max), use a papoose type carrier that you put on your chest. i can still remember the feeling of it with my kids and it is really quite amazing. The feeling of a small child snuggled and sleeping against your chest as you stride around is really uplifting. Its also really good for them as they are still conditioned to how they were in the womb and the swaying motion of walking keeps them happy, asleep or both! It also keeps you and baby nice and warm on a cold day!!!
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I always find the Bushbaby Premier a perfect carrier for my days out, there is more than enough room inside to keep a good size lunch aswell as all the nappies etc. The harness system seems to the little one snugly fitted inside, allowing them to stay safe whilst sleeping wherever I walk. The harness was one of the main reasons for buying the Bushbaby one over the others, as it seemed much more secure. Whilst adding the link, I did notice that they are now doing an ultra lightweight carrier called the Micro. Which looks like it still has all the main features, and weighs it at only 1.2kg Colin
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Thanks for all the input, that gives me plenty to look at.
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best advice though in all seriousness is "try before you buy"
we did and we chose the right carrier for us, which is not necessarily the right carrier for the next person etc
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Both of ours were in a Huggababy sling til they were too big. It is fantastic, and if the little one starts crying just dig out its leg and blow down its foot, looks and sounds like you're playing the bag pipes.
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 Our 3 kids all went out in a Macpac which seemed incredibly expensive at the time but was obviously better built than other cheap ones around. It was a fantastic buy and worth every penny over the years. Surprisingly it got more use than might be expected as it wasn't just outdoor adventures off the beaten track it got used for. Most shopping trips to town or nipping down to the post office etc were done with a backpack as it's a lot easier negotiating busy streets with a backpack than using a pram. The other thing the pack was used for was indoors when the kids were unsettled. My wife would load up the pack and carry on with jobs around the house or garden and generally the children settled quickly to sleep, or at least stopped getting so upset.
It's only fairly recently that we actually sold it on after about 8 or 9 years use and I hope the next family find it as useful.
Spend some time choosing the one that fits you and try it on loaded up with a decent amount of weight. A 2-3 year old toddler plus drinks, picnic, spare clothers, first aid kit, bucket, spade and several kilos of collected treasures (fossils, shells, interesting pebbles/sticks etc) weighs a lot and it's surprising how cliff paths can be steeper on the way back up at the end of the day.
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 We had a Karrimor backpack which we found really rather heavy. For our daughter (second child) we tried again, but still found it added too much weight to be useful. On a trip to the Cairngorms 2 years ago while Joy was 2 we instead fashioned our own papoose from a bedsheet split lengthways and stitched end to end. Googling for papoose or similar should find you plenty of info on this. Reduces the weight that the carrying device adds. Of course a papoose doesn't have any carrying capacity apart from the child, so that may be a factor. on 2 person walks though we found this was our best solution.
Sorry for the thread necro, but I figure the baby's not due yet!
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Hi Roger, the baby is not due till the end of Sept. I Shall have a go at making a papoose myself as the retail price of them are fairly steep for what they are. Thanks for the idea.
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if you wanted to try a backpack our one is going free to a good home - I'm sure it's still in the loft somewhere! Since our youngest managed to climb to the top of Cairngorm on our last trip I don't think we need it anymore :)
Roger
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Thanks for that Roger that is very kind. I'll drop you an email.
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Roger could you drop me an email as yours is set to private. Thanks.
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