WHO: Martha, 47, and Timothy Mauser, 53, their children , Elizabeth, 13, and Angus, 10, of Ipswich, and Martha's mother, Adeline Diehl, 82, of Denver.
WHERE: England
WHEN: 12 days in April
WHY: "My husband and I used to take walking vacations, but stopped when the children came. Now that they're older we thought we'd take them," Martha Mauser said of the family's plan to walk along part of England's Coast to Coast Walk.
THE MASTER PLAN: Mauser planned the trip using coast2coast.co.uk . "You can order maps and guidebooks there. But as these things go, no matter how much you plan, things go wrong. And some of the trails aren't really trails. You basically have to put your compass out and head in that direction. It's always been our experience when we walk that we will get lost." They stayed in country hotels, pubs, and B&Bs in villages along the route. "My mother didn't hike, but would go by cab with the luggage to the next village each morning. Also, if a child didn't feel like walking, they could go with Grandma. Only two days out of five, it was all four of us."
COME ALONG, CHILDREN: After a day touring London, they took the train to St. Bee s Head in Cumbria to start the hike. As for the kids, "this was not their idea of a great vacation. My daughter would rather stay in London shopping." The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. "Of course , we'd gone with all this heavy clothing and rain gear," Mauser said.
LIKE LITTLE LOST LAMBS: Their shortest day of hiking was 8 miles and the longest 14. "The walking paths are right through pastures, using all different types of stiles. It was spring and we saw so many lambs." On the second day of hiking, with mother, father, and daughter on the trail, Mauser's expectation of getting lost was met. "We first started to get into the Lake District; it was a lovely hike," she said. After a lunch stop, "this is where we should have used a compass. We thought we were on a walking trail, but it was a sheep trail." From the top of a ridge, a fellow hiker directed them down the mountain to a parking lot, but it was getting dark. Just as they were bumming a ride to the hotel, a car drove up. "I'm looking for some lost hikers," a man said. The driver was the owner of their hotel.
WET AND WRONG: Another day, with their son, "the day started nice, but the clouds rolled in," she said. A squall rolled in and "the rain was so heavy it was like sleet, with high winds." Meanwhile, they climbed the wrong steep hill. After hiking down, they found a ride.
LIKE HOME, 'TWAS: Before heading back to London for a day, they visited Lincoln, a former Roman city, where friends live. A side trip from there was to the village of Grantham to visit Belton House , a National Trust property that has been used in historic films. "We wanted to see it because it was the model for part of the exterior of Castle Hill here in Ipswich."
