Our best memories were walking memories

A daily family walk became a bonding experience for Jenni and her family during lockdown, especially when they discovered new walking routes on their doorstep.

Jenni

During lockdown, I was at home with my husband and my two kids who are 13 and 11.

I tend to work partly from home or out and about locally, but during lockdown I was much more desk based, and my husband, who’s usually based in Glasgow, was working from home.

We went walking lots during lockdown. At the beginning, it just once a day because that’s what we were allowed and then, as things lifted a bit, we were doing more and more each day.

Initially we would go walking in the early evenings after a day of school work and working at home. It was always something we all looked forward to, probably not initially for the kids but it was something they grew to enjoy more as it became a regular part of every single day.

I don’t think we missed a single day of going out our daily walk, although the kids maybe missed one or two when they weren’t in the mood, but overall it became something we all did every day.

I would say the kids started enjoyed it much more when we discovered our local golf course. It was a 10-minute walk from our house and we had never been round the grounds before. It was just so interesting We saw rabbits and deer, we discovered new buildings, and it came to the point that, as long as we were there, the kids were happy. That became our go-to place.

For me, I sometimes just enjoyed wondering in the local streets, the local estates that I hadn’t checked out since I moved here two-and-a-half years ago.

So it wasn’t always about the amazing views and scenery which we are very spoiled with here, sometimes it was just about wondering around, having a look in people’s windows and just noticing how quiet everything was.
It was also about being together; our break from the house, our family bonding time, and a chance to discover new routes on our doorstep.

I think some of our best lockdown memories will be our walking memories.
We’ll definitely keep walking as a family, we always have done anyway. I think the kids realise now how good it is for you and how good it makes you feel.