CLIMB WITH YOUR KIDS

AUGUST Pen y Fan Brecon Beacons

There’s a burger van and public conveniences in the car park. Normally I’d turn my nose up at this sort of thing – I’m a hill snob at heart. But this isn’t about me. My daughter is 6, and she’s about to stand on the highest bit of ground she’s ever stood on. Plus, she’s bound to need a wee before we go.

The path that gently ascends Pen y Fan’s western slopes is part of the Beacons Way. It’s particularly wellconstructed (I’ve driven on bumpier roads) and nearly always busy. Again, this isn’t a problem today. It means my little girl (and, perhaps more importantly, her mother) knows we’re not doing anything wild and dangerous. This is a family outing on a family hill, and the presence of other families doing the same as us is reassuring to them both.

There are many stops. Little legs used to the flats of Norfolk get tired going uphill. And that’s just my wife. But with the wide track giving plenty of room for people to pass, and a rolling green landscape to admire as energy levels are restored with Haribo, it’s not an inconvenience. This is not a big route, not a big day. This isn’t about challenges and social media boasting. This is about enjoyment. There’s time to spare and the slow-going is a pleasant change of pace.

We’re nearing Bwlch Duwynt. My daughter has noticed that we’re running out of mountain. She’s excited. But her enthusiastic grin fades when she notices that there is still more ‘up’ to do. I explain false summits. She says that the mountain is cheating. It’s hard to disagree.

She’s disappointed again when I have to tell her the top of Corn Du isn’t the summit either. But her smile returns when I point to Pen y Fan’s cairn-topped peak just a short distance away. And this time, I promise her, it really is the top.

886m up is the highest my little girl – who suddenly doesn’t seem so little – has ever been on her own two legs. I’m proud of her, but not as proud as she is of herself. And my wife’s just glad nobody’s died. We pose for a selfie on the summit, celebrate with a handful of Haribo, and head back down, satisfied with the accomplishments of the day and thinking about that burger van in the car park…