A Family Fun Day with Robert Douglas

The Barbour Way of Life is all about spending time in the great outdoors and indulging friends and family. Whether it’s a picnic in the park or a ramble through the forest, making time to enjoy the slower pace of life and the nature around us with loved ones, is a must for us here at Barbour this summer.

To celebrate the Barbour Way of Life as the weather gets warmer, we got to know father and Executive Producer, Robert Douglas, joining him on his family fun day to find out more about how they will be making the most of the outdoors this summer.

Please introduce yourself and your family.

Hi, my name is Robert, I have a stunning wife Sherrianne, two amazing boys aged 8 and 4 and newcomer to the family, our Cockapoo, Marlow.

Tell us a bit about what you got up to on your summer day out.

When it comes to summer days, we are sometimes creatures of habit and one of our favourite places to go is the woods. As ever with two children we spent the day exploring, climbing trees, building stick dens, digging for rare diamonds - which our 8-year-old is convinced he found, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was a white stone - and eating ice cream.

In our local woods, they have viewing platforms to spot stunning birds of prey, so we spent some time looking out for Red Kites then headed back in search of the ice cream truck. We were clearly late for lunch because all the shaded areas were occupied with families eating so we sat in the sun and finished our ice cream before it could melt and watched the boys playing with all sorts of things they had found. When it started to get chilly, we headed home to chill in the garden with a drink chatting to the neighbours.

Can you tell us any stories about times you’ve had with your family in the countryside or by the coast?

Last year we had a ‘spontaneous day.’ We packed up and went out for the day with no plan or expectation, we ended up hiring a boat and spent a few hours out on the river. The boys hadn’t been on a boat before so allowing them the time and space to enjoy it was the best feeling. Sometimes having no plan is the best plan.

How do you feel you live the Barbour Way of Life?

We are so fortunate to live in an area with open countryside at the top of our street so, as much as we can, we go walking and cycling in the fields and walkways. I think it's really important that my children have as much opportunity to experience the outdoors and thankfully they love it.

What is your favourite family activity for the spring-summer season? What are you looking forward to the most as a family?

We are always up for a BBQ’s, who isn’t in the summer?! But we also love taking a long stroll in the evening up a hill near to where we live and it's so high that we watch the sunset, the boys run around while we sit, chat and plan while looking out for miles. Perfect.

What do you all do in your downtime to relax?

In our downtime you can catch us all bundled on the sofa watching movies. Pretty typical family thing to do but we are so busy most of the time when we do have down time we just want to sit and do nothing.

Do you have any top tips for packing for a day out with the family in the summer?

I don’t actually! I end up shoving snacks in a bag and jumping in the car. I always think as long as we have food and each other we are ok!

What would we find in the pockets of your Barbour jacket?

‘Precious stones’ I have been given for safekeeping, hand sanitiser, wallet, keys and airpods.

Do you have any special traditions/celebrations this Father’s Day?

The boys know I love pancakes so we’ll have those at some point but apart from that we will go with the flow.

What does being a father mean to you?

Ahh that is the hardest question I ever get asked because there is so much! I suppose in a nutshell for me, being a father is about providing a safe space for my children to discover who they are, love who they are and have love and compassion for others.

Discover more over on our blog, or shop the latest men’s, women’s and children’s collections to equip yourself for the summer days ahead.