“Let’s do this!”

Five top tips for inspiring a young adventurer

1 THINK LIKE THEM What will make this trip exciting? Think about cliffs, caves and stepping stones. Ghostly legends, dragon myths, rare birds of prey, fossil-spotting, horrible history: all these things help turn ‘a walk’ into ‘an adventure’. 2 INVOLVE THEM Show them the map and involve them in planning your route. Even better, give them the map, app or GPS and let them lead the way. And walks are better with friends (and friendships get better with walking) – can they choose a BFF to bring with them? 3 REWARD THEM Secretly leave a treat on a stile or gate they’re about to pass through and blame it on the Stile Fairies. And make sure there’s either a café, an ice cream van or a playground at the end of the walk (preferably some combination of all three). Is there a way to make the return leg exciting – a steam train or boat ride, maybe?

4 SURPRISE THEM Add in an exciting element like geocaching – a digital treasure hunt in which you chase down hidden ‘caches’ (collections of endlessly weird trinkets left by previous finders) using your phone or GPS. Find out more at www. geocaching.com. Or use your GPS track and software to spell out something or make a face in the landscape, like artist Jeremy Wood.

5 … AND CELEBRATE THEM! Hero selfies, pictures sent to the grandparents or teachers, the judicious use of Facebook, improvised certificates of heroism: all these things quietly say “We’re so glad you came with us, kiddo.”