[205Chris]

We're working on the assumption that our annual trip to Font isn't going to happen this year and are now trying to find a UK alternative.

So, looking for Toddler friendly bouldering destinations. Places like Bowden Doors are ideal, Porth Ysgo not so much.

The Peak and Yorkshire are local enough to not really be holiday destinations for us and we've done quite a bit in Northumberland and North Wales so thinking somewhere new.

Cornwall looks like a potential candidate, thinking mainly for Tintagel. Overall the bouldering venues in Cornwall look quite spaced out, would prefer to avoid lots of driving. Is there one good place to have as a base?

Lake District?

Scotland?

Looking to go around late September.

Thanks all

[Anti]

We were planning Scotland for last Nov. Hiring a motor home for the week was about the same cost as Airbnbs, a lot of crags would've been easy to access (esp. Torridon) and proximity to "home" makes logistics a lot easier than piling up the car every morning. It also means if weather is shit you just move along.

[Oldmanmatt]

TTT just shared some pics of the kids circuit at Shipley. Looks cracking.

Dartmoor has mountains of easily accessible stuff, with safe landings and beautiful setting.
Spent many hazy summer days playing with mine there as toddlers. Bone hill has some brilliant easy slabs for top roping munchkins too. Add to that the river swimming and proximity to excellent beaches and it’s a fantastic destination. I used to take them to Portland, when still very young, because I thought getting them on lead asap, would give them a “head” start, if you know what I mean. However, many places on Portland give a parent severe  anxiety.
Notably on one occasion, trying to walk the cliff path the access bouldering (just along from Sharbutts quarry), I had stupidly allowed my then 5 year old to carry a small pad. Very nearly lost her over the cliff in an unexpected gust of wind...

[Duma]

Tintagel is def not toddler friendly

[BrutusTheBear]

You might have issues getting a toddler in to Tintagel. It's a fairly long walk followed by steep grass and then a proper scramble to get down to the boulders. More accessible places in Kernow would be Godrevy and Carn Brea, Northcott. The rest will be reliant upon your toddler's ability to scramble and walk distances.   Staying anywhere central in Kernow will give you fairly quick access to North/South and further West coasts.
Despite relatively short distances as the crow flies the reality of climbing in the south west is that you will have to do a fair bit of driving, unless you focus your attention on one venue/location.

Lots of child friendly venues on Dartmoor within a compact area and plenty for family to do whilst the skin grows back from shredding the granite.

[BrutusTheBear]

My son managed Tintagel aged 6 and Carnage wall at Hartland aged 5, the latter required some carrying over tricky sections.  So it's not impossible but it is not a nice stroll along with a buggy to a perfect boulder on a beach!  You need to know what you're getting into.

[Will Hunt]

How old will the toddler be?

Shipley Glen is great for getting the kids on the rock, but it's not a destination I'd relish visiting as part of a holiday if I was intending on climbing. The bottom of the crag where the adults stuff is is fine for young kids if they're under close supervision.

Depending on how much you've been there I'd say Brimham was a safe bet and would be a good place to visit on holiday if you're from outside the area. Almscliff is kid friendly.

Edit: just seen that Yorkshire is too close to you to be a holiday destination.

[Danny]

I live in Cornwall, and I do the bouldering with kids and toddlers thing quite regularly. Although all the images of beautiful granite and beaches might suggest otherwise, I would say this is a pretty poor place to go on a family bouldering holiday. Tint, as mentioned is less than ideal. Godrevy is treacherous AF in places but generally OK in the tide window. Priest's Cove: no way. Cot Valley: less than ideal. Sennen: less than ideal. Pentire: no way. Gloose: no way. North Cliffs: maybe, if you can get down OK.

Decent coastal places on offer:

Northcott is good.

Pednvounder is great, but has a bit of a scramble to get down and will be neck deep in nudists bathing under the problems in summer.     

Mother Ivey's is lovely for kids, but limited on the climbing front.

The aforementioned moorland venues are just ok, if your skin can take it. And are much less good than anything you'll find in the Peak or Wales with kid friendly setups. 

[Danny]

I guess it all depends on your criteria. Do you want to get them down safely and go climbing, or instead do you want to go climbing in a place where they can also climb and/or go wild in the sea with abandon?

[205Chris]

OK, thanks all, some good intelligence here.

To clarify, he'll be 2.5 when we go away so less about him actually getting on rock but more about not having an epic getting to / from or at the crag.

Hence the Bowden Doors example, short walk in, nice flat area to sit around, can toddle around without too much risk of a rock landing on his head or falling down a hole etc.

[Oldmanmatt]

Dartmoor with toddlers:







Sorry for the Daisy Duke shirt thing, no idea why I’d done that. Most likely I’d had a nappy to deal with and the shirt kept hanging down into the crap...
Perks of single parent life.

The rock at Portland is exciting for little kids though, magical. Some excellent 2,3, & 4s in Sharbutts quarry and the area itself is stunning and full of adventure possibilities. Even though it’s less than two hours from us, we took a static caravan up there for 10 days last summer.

5 year old, on lead (first):




Same route, older child on a different trip. I don’t know if you know Portland, but the flowstone can be stunning:



And this slab, is entirely composed of fossil oyster shells. Amazing for them, on top of all the massive Ammonites they’ll climb over to get here. This spot requires a confidence rope for little ones to get to it:



I think the boys were 8 and 5 respectively in those pics.

[Oldmanmatt]

Oh yeah. I’ve tied my kids in with a spare bit of rope and staked them out like I would with the dogs at a crag, more than once...

🤷‍♂️ It works.

[tomtom]

Good few places in the Lakes Chris.

Carrock can be 'road side' for access (I've climbed there whilst his nibs was asleep in the car - window open - about 10m away) and there are also areas/boulders a bit further (50-100m) away - generally grassy/brackeny area. And more to explore if needed.

Kentmere (esp Little font) some great spots in there for a toddler - maybe 500m walk/carry....

Bowderstone etc....

And others....


Cornwall good too - I went 18 months ago (summer 19?) with ours who'd have been 3ish then - and a few places where we could get set up on the beach and I could piss off for an hour or bit and get my fix... I posted about it in a thread here somewhere...

Sorry - busy day etc..

[sxrxg]

We went to Scotland in the camper van this summer and of all the places we visited i could recommend the area around Cummingston. We stayed at the campsite at Hopeman right on the shoreline with a beach to swim and do general family things. The site is then walking distance to Cummingston for some sandstone seacliff bouldering to the West and Primrose Bay can be walked to by heading East. Not the most extensive bouldering however these is enough to waste away a few hours on a family holiday especially as it is easy to set the kids up on the beach to play. Also the best thing about this area specifically in the summer is the lack of midges... this is the main reason we ended up over this way as we didn't really have a set itinerary for the trip and needed a couple of days without being eaten alive!

Could be combined with heading across to Torridon that also has easily accessible bouldering for the kids.

[SA Chris]

I guess criteria would be; short(ish) approach, fairly flat and grassy, no big drops?

In which case a few of the better known places off the top of my head

Scotland;

Thirlstane - yes, ideal with sandy / pebble beach to boot!

Garheugh Port - less ideal than the above (rocky), and quite a long way off the main road, but not bad if you plan spending some time in the area.

Dumby - no unless you want your child to become resilient to broken glass, needles and dogshit.

Cunningar Loop would be great though, if you are in or around Glasgow area. Ace playpark for kids there.

Glen Nevis - some bits OK, other bits a bit of a hike, midgie as hell in summer.

Most of Perthshire boulders are a longish walk, St Bridges Wall probably OK, just need to be careful on busy road. Some other small spots around Trossachs / Callander would be oK, but great place for walking  / cycling with kids though. Loch Katrine blocks probably Ok, medium walk, but not too steep.

Glen Lednock - long walk now gate is locked. If you can put up with this, mostly good, although some drops off some boulders.

Wolfcrag Quarry - grotty hole, but ideal with nipper. Flat enclosed central bit with puddles etc.

Glen Clova - pretty spread out, but the Peel Bouder section is friendly and accessible, with cave and crawl through etc, plus nice forest walks and stream ideal for paddling, and nice friendly hotel / pub. Fine for midges except still evenings.

Round Aberdeen, Boltsheugh is flat with a large non-tidal platform, but big drops into the sea. Some rockpools at lower end. Portlethen, fine once you are down, but the path down turns to a mudslide in wet weather.

Cummingston and Primrose as mentioned, good for kids, low tide at both opens a lot of options.

Torridon area - good as mentioned, but some drops higher up the hillside. Can be brutally midgy.

Skye - mostly longish walks and spread out boulders.

All the above re: midges Sept can still be harsh midge wise, but can be OK.

[Bradders]

South Lakes would be a good shout. Trowbarrow is perfect for kids, and Woodwell similar. Generally gets better weather than central Lakeland plus there are lots of options for different conditions (e.g. can still climb if it's hot / raining), although you could mix it up and head in to Kentmere if you wanted.

[Alex-the-Alex]

Good list by Chris. Just to add to the Scottish venues:
-   Reiff in woods – not great – toddler sized holes and high balcony/drop
-   Kishorn – not bad – easy walk in, only a few holes/bogs, generally grassy below the kishorn stone, others more heathery
-   Strontian – bad - river crossing and heavy heather bashing
-   Laggan – not bad – easy 30 min walk in and flat below the main boulder (strongbow) – not sure about Gale Force side
-   Ruthven – good – 5 minute walk and flat bottom.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Mull could be a really good option. Loch Buie ticks all the boxes, easy walk in, nice beach, flat landings/bottom, and problems and routes up to mid 7s. The Gribun boulders don’t go so high (mostly 6s) but again lovely meadow setting 5 minutes from parking with a beach nearby. And there’s Bonjoys newest addition to hunt down near Erraid. And at further risk of sounding daft, Oban has a couple of great family venues whilst on the way to Mull. The Brandystone is roadside and flat pebbly beach, and Catnip is only a 15 min walk from the ferry and has a lovely flat grassy landing below and beach nearby. All the above dry quickly and get a good breeze.

[Nutty]

I'll add another vote for Dartmoor - our toddler loved clambering on rocks and looking for dragon/bear/gruffalo caves at Hound Tor, Bonehill Rocks and Combestone Tor and you can't get much more easy access.

[nai]

In which case a few of the better known places off the top of my head

Scotland;

Ruthven boulder has a short approach and flat base. Good climbing too.
Also an RSPB site on a loch with a short walk thorough woods, plenty of wildlife indulging magnifIcent Slavonian Grebes at the right time of year.

[dunnyg]

Dartmoorish has the other plus point that it isnt too far from loads of DWS on the south coast, might be nice in september.

[Will Hunt]

Dartmoorish has the other plus point that it isnt too far from loads of DWS on the south coast, might be nice in september.

Always stress free having a toddler at a DWS spot too.

[Oldmanmatt]

On second thoughts, South Devon and Dartmoor are really awful and everybody should really stay away...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btb4KwylkUs/?igshid=12o3jwqhkg69c

https://www.instagram.com/p/BttVRlUFG41/?igshid=1fepyq7571o8h

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1d203sDsbK/?igshid=8kqg4iofvnxq

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCtf8cMj3IZ/?igshid=wiwz1b30myfs

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDM0zBcjdS9/?igshid=1bhw32beubgis

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwl5n1jvkH/?igshid=43tk04m06dkp

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzQAHwDk3-/?igshid=1ni3uselsiz8j

Yeah, best avoided really...

[Oldmanmatt]

Dartmoorish has the other plus point that it isnt too far from loads of DWS on the south coast, might be nice in september.

Always stress free having a toddler at a DWS spot too.

It’s possible. Depends on the number of adults and ambitions really.

We used to do some quite remote and inaccessible places, with a papoose and a good set of reins.

Did quite a few Carpathian peaks with a toddler and baby in a papoose. Summer, of course. Confidence rope is your friend there..

[bolehillbilly]

North Lakes has worked for us in the past. We've stayed at a few places north of Ullswater, south of A66.  Carrock and Bowderstone are great, also not far to the Eden Valley and Armathwaite. We had a great trip out from there to Fleswick Bay by St Bees. It's also not too far to drop down to Langdale boulders. Good biking obviously and some toddler distractions which would be quieter in Sept.
A bit of driving involved but all good options with a little one.

[Duma]

lovely pics matt

[SA Chris]

Ruthven boulder has a short approach and flat base. Good climbing too.
Also an RSPB site on a loch with a short walk thorough woods, plenty of wildlife indulging magnifIcent Slavonian Grebes at the right time of year.

Good additions from AtA and nai. I've never known a toddler not get excited by Slavonian Grebes! Looks like some locals have been developing new stuff in Strathspey too, scragrock......

Forgot to mention Primrose Bay has a great cave for exploring, and if there is any swell the beach is great for bodyboarding with kids. Lossie is better for that, but I'm not sure the bridge has been fixed yet.

[JamieG]

Might have been mentioned already but both Humphrey Head and Eskdale Fisherground in the Lakes are pretty easy with a toddler. Langdale boulders too. We went to all of them with a 1 and half year old with no trouble last year.

[dunnyg]

Fuck off Will x

[SA Chris]

On second thoughts, South Devon and Dartmoor are really awful and everybody should really stay away...

To be fair, if I was considering North vs SW in September, I know I'd be heading SW; works of the crowds have gone, Winter swells starting to come in.

Only trouble is it would mean having to visit my parents in Dawlish.

Saying that, SW Wales would be pretty good too, assuming by Wales you mean N Wales.

[highrepute]

We've been to the following places with ours chris.

Northumberland - Bowden, back and other places I can't remember the name of, Gimmerknowe(?). Often short approach and flat and grassy at the crags. so really good for toddlers as an area - beach too.

Lakes - we stayed in the cottage by the campsite at eskdale. 30 seconds walk to the boulders, ideal as I could squeeze in climbing around a normal day. miniature train. bouldering not extensive but it's really nice. this part of lakes is a bit quieter.

Bowderstone for obvious reasons.

Can't think of any others.

[Andy B]

We’ve bouldered at most of the venues mentioned with our toddler, while he was between the ages of 1 and 3. Including some of gnarlier ones. If you’re happy with a bit of rope work, I use short roping a fair bit with our lad. It can turn a potentially epic, miserable approach into a great adventure.

[Oldmanmatt]

We’ve bouldered at most of the venues mentioned with our toddler, while he was between the ages of 1 and 3. Including some of gnarlier ones. If you’re happy with a bit of rope work, I use short roping a fair bit with our lad. It can turn a potentially epic, miserable approach into a great adventure.

This.

A good full body harness, a natty helmet, lowering them off and raising them over obstacles etc.
Mega adventures abound!