Cooking is a skill often passed down through generations. My mum taught me how to cook and I hope to encourage my girls to develop the skills and love of cooking that was once offered to me. But, I hope to do it with a twist – in the outdoors!

As a family, we regularly make time to find interesting locations to cook one of our one pots. The girls have always been involved, from choosing meal ideas to chopping up the vegetables and stirring.

The next stage was to give them ownership over their cooking. First attempts were made on an eight mile trek along a coastal path. To keep it simple the girls chose a preferred tin to warm in their mess tins. The focus was on them getting used to the solid fuel hexamine cooker that they each had; they learnt how to find a level, safe and sheltered position for the cooker and how to set it up and light it. Although the meal was simple, the smiles on their faces as they munched on their own beach-cooked meal said it all.

Since then the girls have started to experiment more with their meals; chopping fresh vegetables to add to rice or pasta and a sauce.