Adventure holidays with our own young children in the early 1990's

When Jeanette Davey's daughter took her first steps on a mountain walking holiday, aged just 16 months, Jeanette watched in dismay as her daughter had to walk in thin soled shoes on gravel, stones and rocks. She had searched high and low and discovered that walking boots with thicker soles were not available for tiny feet.

When Jeanette spent a lot of money on 'waterproofs' for her children on another mountain walking holiday, she was again dismayed when she watched in horror as the waterproofing did not work when it was needed. She had been mis-sold products which were not waterproof. Her children were soaked through to their nappies on a particularly cold, sleety, wet August afternoon in the Swiss Alps, while helicopters flew overhead to check for stranded walkers. Instead of being safe in the knowledge that the family was well-equipped, Jeanette and her husband found themselves in a potentially dangerous situation, particularly for their youngest, who was immobile in a child carrier and too young to walk to get warm.

Growth of an idea

Growth of the industry

Two years later, back at the very first trade show, every stand asked was now making products for children for the first time. The following year those manufacturers started to make bespoke styles for women.

Young Explorers was in at the beginning, and has become a very respected knowledge on the subject of what parents want and what is of an acceptable standard to work for purpose.

In a bizarre twist from Jeanette's first encounters, Young Explorers has found itself being contacted time and again by some of the most respected manufacturers in the outdoor industry, for advice about technical standards, about designs and even about what colour is being requested by our customers. Patience has become one of the strongest virtues for the Young Explorers team, as some suggestions about manufacturing concepts have taken up to 3 years to be worked into the design and actually appear in our range.

As the business has grown, it has similarly become a sounding board for many travel and consumer journalists writing at national level in respected broadsheets or in specialist magazine publications. The starting point for a fair few articles has been for the journalist to phone us first and do some background research before putting together a product range, ranging from issues such as the benefits of UV swimwear to protect against skin cancer and heavily laden school bags which are not a suitable design for young backs.

Our shop was born

Learning from our customers

Meeting customers and talking to you on the phone has been invaluable in learning about what you are looking for. All holiday tales have been exciting to hear about, whether you are holidaying in the UK or overseas. A significant number of you need suitable clothing because you are working abroad, whether in the heat of Mexico and Hungary or the cold of Moscow, as has been the case with recent customers. Those walking to school or walking the dog on the moors - day in, day out - need waterproofs that work well for purpose. Those who have skied for years without children suddenly find themselves asking the most basic of questions when looking to take their children for the first time. Those going to exotic locations for a special holiday need sound advice about suitable clothing.

We really do know just how sizes vary from one child to the next. We are not afraid to ask if your child has a big head, is rotund or has short legs. As much data as we can possibly find out about the products is shown on our website, to help you with your purchase. On many occasions we have measured every dimension ourselves as the wholesalers do not have the data available and do not think it is needed. We realise that this info is needed.

We have learnt a lot from parents of children who have a disability. Some want to overcome the frustration of being grounded through physical disability, such as farmers seeking to take their children with them over rough ground, or parents who are keen cyclists but cannot get trailers suitably adapted for their disabled child. Some need to address feeling the cold more through being immobile. Others want to equip themselves for a special or rare holiday, sometimes combining the trip with fund raising for a particular charity, such as the Dad who trekked with his petite 15 year old in a child carrier in the mountains of Morocco. Whilst not a disability, some need to consider the serious skin irritation that their child suffers when in the water.

Back to our own family

The Launch of Small World magazine

2006 saw the long-planned launch of Small World magazine by Jeanette and her team, as a direct result of hearing from customers all about their outdoor activities and their travels. It is clear that here has been no single resource for this information in the UK, and that Young Explorers has got not only great tales to relay from customers, but also a significant number of the UK's top specialists in their field and top family travel and outdoor journalists on her customer base. Combining the two was an obvious next step.

Celebrating our 10th birthday ...

... and celebrating the changing face of retailing

Our customers have become increasingly comfortable with the concept of buying online. Quite rightly, you have decided to spend your weekends out and about enjoying the gear you buy from us, leaving the shopping until dark or until the kids are tucked up in bed.

To reflect that, we have closed our shop and are now concentrating on bringing you a first class service through the internet and by phone, and expanding our range a little to include adult sizes. Our aim is to continue to be the leader in our field. To this end we can now bring you a website packed full of information, which we have aimed to make as user friendly as possible.

Thank you