Don’t let any children deter you from a countryside walk

I walk my dogs in the countryside every day, but since I became a parent earlier this year many of my regular routes are off limits because I now have a pram with me.

Thankfully, I know of a few family-friendly options too. Here are some that you can enjoy with children:

Skipwith Common National Nature Reserve

Located south of York, Skipwith Common is made up of 270 hectares of open heath, ponds, mire, fen, reed-bed, woodland and scrub. During the Second World War there was a bomber training airfield on part of the site and some of the tarmac paths and runways still remain today, making vast areas accessible to families with prams and pushchairs. Younger visitors will enjoy seeing the Longhorn cattle, Hebridean sheep and Exmoor ponies that roam freely on much of the reserve as part of Natural England’s approach to managing this unique heathland environment.

Dogs are welcome but visitors are asked to keep them on a lead to protect ground nesting birds and the grazing livestock. The tarmac track is easily accessible from one of the two car parking areas, which is accessed via the village of Skipwith. The entrance to the other, larger car parking area is just outside the village but it leads to a path that sometimes gets a bit boggy.

Eastrington Ponds Nature Reserve

Located near Howden, this little nature reserve occupies part of the disused Hull to Barnsley railway line. The ponds were created when clay was extracted for the brickworks located there during the mid-20th century. Because the site isn’t too large, you can enjoy a pleasant walk without tiring little legs out too much. The pathways around the pond and the track along the old railway line are accessible to pushchairs and prams, although some areas do get a little wet and muddy following periods of bad weather. Ducks and other wildfowl feed in the largest pond, and there’s a hide for bird-watching overlooking a pond at the bottom of the railway embankment. There’s a small car park, plenty of seating and a picnic area, so take along a packed lunch and make an afternoon of it. Dogs are welcome, but it goes without saying that you must clean up after your pets.

Runswick Bay to Port Mulgrave

This walk definitely isn’t accessible to pushchairs, so little ones will have to be carried in a harness. However, older children will really enjoy it as Port Mulgrave is one of the best places on the East Coast to hunt for fossils, plus there’s the added intrigue of the area’s reputation as a smugglers’ cove. Park in the cliff top car park at Runswick Bay, just off the A174 Whitby to Saltburn Road. Turn left out of the car park and head back up the road towards the car park of the Runswick Bay Hotel, where you can access a stone path that connects up with the cliff top route that you need to follow. Continue for about a mile until you see the abandoned jetty and ramshackle huts of Port Mulgrave. You have to tackle a steep path down the cliffs to reach this isolated little spot, but it’s well worth the climb back up as fossils can be found all over the beach.