How to Fit in Family Walks When You’re Short on Time

If you’ve followed our family micro adventures, you’ll know we love exploring new places. But lately, our family walks have been a bit… well, closer to home! Life has thrown a few curveballs recently (good ones, mostly!), which means we’ve had to be creative about getting our daily steps in.

I recently traded in the self-employed life for full-time employment – I had an opportunity I simply couldn’t resist. Of course, that means there is less flexibility in our routine now, especially when it comes to fitting in our family walks. Throw in the dark winter evenings and seemingly endless bad weather, and it’s safe to say we’ve had to adapt!

We’ve embraced local routes, head torches, and shorter walks squeezed in inbetween the showers. Not quite the epic hikes we’re used to sharing here, but still so important for us as a family. Plus, we’re mid-way through our campervan conversion (a Ford Transit, if you’re wondering!), and we’ve decided to prioritise finishing this big family project. After all, once it’s done, we’ll be ready to explore further afield again – in the warmer, sunnier months!

In the meantime, here are some tried-and-tested tips for squeezing family walks into a busy schedule:

• Local is Lovely: Don’t underestimate the value of walking close to home. Even a quick walk around the block can refresh everyone after a long day.
• Head Torches for Dark Evenings: Keeping fully charged head torches by the door makes it easy to grab them and get outside, even in winter darkness.
• Make the Most of Short Breaks: If the weather is unpredictable, aim for shorter walks. Honestly, even a quick 15-20 minutes is better than nothing!
• Park and Walk: Our school is unfortunately three miles away along a busy country lane, so walking the full route isn’t practical daily. But we’ve started parking a bit further away from school each day and walking the last stretch, giving us some extra steps and a mini-adventure twice a day.
• Combine Errands with Walks: Need to pop to the local shop or post office? Leave the car at home and walk there instead. Being out in the sticks we try and bundle errands together – for instance, if the boys have a club in the evening, we will drop them off, leave the car there, and walk to the supermarket to pick up bread and milk!
• Make Weekends Count: If weekdays are tricky, plan slightly longer adventures on weekends – even if they’re still local, it’s quality time together outdoors.

Life gets busy, routines change, and sometimes adventure looks different – but it’s still adventure! We’ll be back exploring exciting new trails soon enough, but until then, we’re learning that there’s plenty to enjoy right here on our doorstep too.

I’d love to hear how you fit in your family walks when life gets busy – share your tips below!