Alison Curtis: How to make the most of 'urban hikes' in the city with your loved ones

Going down the road of urban hikes to experience an adventure within your 5km

I think if we were honest we all felt that an extension to lockdown was inevitable in some shape or another.

The challenges for each person and family is different within the restrictions. For some people it is living on their own that is causing the most distress. For others, it is not seeing family for months on end. For most people, it is the goal of achieving work and homeschooling each day.

For me, if I am honest the biggest challenge most days is staying within my 5km limit. I appreciate that this in most cases is the least of people’s worries.

But living in Dublin and being a country gal at heart means I am left longing for scenery I can’t get to right now. I really love green spaces, wide-open roads and long car journeys. So for me not being able to do two of these things has left me with the aim to find as many new green spaces to enjoy within our 5KM.

I have also learned to make the most of our walks or as we refer to them now ‘urban hikes.’ At the beginning of lockdown last year I was so silly as to leave the house with just the phone, keys and kid. I soon learned that that wasn’t nearly enough.

Obviously, I would need more preparation for a proper hike. So I invested in my first backpack since I was in University. At first I would back the necessary hand sanitster and masks. But as our walks got longer I added other necessities like water, snacks, wipes, shades and even an extra layer of clothing.

This lockdown we have made a thing of our “urban hikes” as in we often map out the evening before where we might go, what kind of shoes we will need and plan our layers and snacks.

Yes we are not going out into the Sahara or crossing the Alps but all the same with being left little to explore we might as well treat each walk as an adventure.

It does feel like it takes us a million years to actually get out of the door some days. Between double-checking our supplies, triple-checking we have masks and the millionth trip to the bathroom I now consider this prep as part of the actually outing.

Once we are out and on our way though there is usually a healthy sense of fun and excitement. Even though chances are, we are walking the same direction we have gone in dozens of times or heading to the same place as yesterday, you do start to appreciate your surroundings more.

We have started to notice things along our routes that we would have always missed before passing it in the car or so preoccupied with getting to school or swimming. You take in your views more as it is all part of the outing and our eyes are craving just seeing something new.

These ‘hikes’ also provide the best of time day for proper conversations. No screens, no distractions just my husband, daughter and I chatting. We have our best talks on these walks. Sometimes we are cracking up and laughing the whole way. Other times is our opportunity as parents to cover some serious topics or for Joan to tell us what is on her mind.

Recently Joan and I had a long conversation on our hike about how can describe people’s appearances without ever being offensive. We went through a history of words that aren’t acceptable anymore. Which lead me on to talking about body image and positivity and how so much has changed since I was her age.

These hikes afford us so much time with our 9-year-old to discuss so many things that will affect her as she gets older and hopefully help shape an empowered and positive young woman.

They are also just fun and a good opportunity for me as an adult to push the limits of my own imagination within the 5km range that we have available to us now.