A boy has become one of the youngest people to conquer all 214 of the Lake District’s famous Wainwright fells – aged just three.
Navy Moores completed the remarkable 510-mile challenge with his family after five months of hiking – finishing on England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike.
He is thought to have beaten the previous record, believed to have been held by a child aged four years and 10 months.
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Navy completed the challenge alongside Daniel, mum Leanne Helm, six-year-old brother Oliver and 15-year-old sister Jessica, as reported by What’s The Jam
Navy’s dad Daniel said the family had been hiking together since 2020, with the youngster initially being carried on walks before he was keen to explore on his own.
“We were carrying him prior to doing the Wainwrights, and he just wanted to be set free and to go and run with his older brother,” he said.
“So that’s kind of how it led to Navy becoming part of the hiking independently.
“We’ve always treated it as a family adventure, as a way for us to just get out and do something together.”
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The family began tackling the 214 summits earlier this year, often walking every other day – and sometimes every day.
Daniel said people had repeatedly questioned whether Navy had been carried during the hikes.
“He’s done this himself,” he said.
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“People are surprised by his age.
“I think because we started at an early age and we’ve kept up with it… I think it’s just keeping up that momentum, and keeping it fun.”
The family finished on Scafell Pike.
Daniel said: “It felt like the right one to finish on because it’s so recognisable, even though it probably wasn’t the best day to finish, as it was raining and in cloud.”
They had hoped to celebrate at the summit with champagne flutes and a view, but instead took photographs before heading back down.
The children chose a more straightforward celebration – a trip to McDonald’s for chicken nuggets and chips.
Navy’s mum Leanne, who home-schools the children, said the hikes had also provided plenty of opportunities for learning.
“It’s easy to put the learning in with the hiking,” she said.
“The amount of things they can learn just by being outdoors and witnessing things for themselves – even just basic life skills.”
Daniel said the family had never set out to break a record, with the challenge instead centred on spending time together.
“We never really started this to try and get a record for Navy to become the youngest known person to complete the Wainwrights,” he said.
“It was just about spending time together as a family. Someone had told us we hadn’t appreciated just how young Navy was doing this because it became almost like everyday life.”
He said Navy understood what he had achieved, but probably did not yet appreciate the scale of it.
The family is already looking ahead to more adventures, with Daniel hoping their experience will encourage other parents to get their children outdoors.
Daniel said: “It’s about making the memories and he might not fully appreciate it now, but when he’s older he can look back on it all and see what he achieved.”
He said the key was allowing children to set the pace, keeping walks enjoyable and taking plenty of snacks and drinks.
“Letting children set the pace is the most important thing and you also have to accept that it’s going to be quite a long day.
“Ultimately, it’s all about being able to enjoy the journey.
So even though finishing the Wainwrights has been the destination, we’ve always been focused on enjoying the journey.”
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