Scotland with the Family
If the children are happy, then parents will normally have a good holiday too! This suggested tour is designed to provide a suitable mixture of activities and places to visit for families with children aged between five and fifteen. It is based on nine nights and can easily be lengthened, shortened or adapted to specific flight times.
Edinburgh, days One and Two
Most people like to spend a couple of nights in or near Edinburgh , there is plenty to do and see and some people take a day to adjust to the time change. The castle is a must – allow at least two hours, since apart from masses of military stuff, you can see the Scottish Crown Jewels, Mary Queen of Scots’ apartments, the pets’ cemetery and St Margaret’s 12th Century Chapel. There are excellent audio guides for hire. Close by, the medieval ‘Royal Mile’ is great for history, ghosts and murky tales; the best guides to all the gruesome events are Mercat Tours.
Our Dynamic Earth is a great fall back if the weather is not co-operative! If you’re coming in August, ensure you get tickets for the Edinburgh Tattoo.
Your four star hotel, with swimming pool, will be in the heart of Edinburgh , very close to the castle. Price is based on a large room with two queen size double beds.
Royal Yacht and Rosslyn Chapel, Day Three
We suggest that you pick up your car in the late morning and then drive along to visit The Royal Yacht Britannia. You can then see some ruined castles in East Lothian , or else visit the wonderful medieval Rosslyn Chapel, made famous by Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’. That night you are at Borthwick Castle (below). Even through adult eyes, this is a massive and impressive castle, the exterior being unchanged since 1430. It also has more than it’s fair share of ghosts and so a one room solution is advised for all but the bravest children!
Borthwick Castle and village
The Road to Castle Country , Day Four
Heading over the Forth Road Bridge, the motorway takes you past Loch Leven and the island castle where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned, to Perth. Here you cross the Tay and head east to Glamis Castle, ancient home of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, where you are welcomed into a historical and architectural treasure trove - but not into the sealed chamber where the Laird of Glamis played cards with the Devil! From Glamis, head to the village of Edzell and the beautiful ‘Cairn o' Mount’ road over to Deeside. Edzell has a charming castle with a unique Renaissance garden.
This is now ‘castle country’ and that afternoon you should have plenty time to see one of the finest, and the best for children. Crathes near Banchory, is furnished as it would have been in the 16 th century; it has also the most sensational gardens, an adventure playground and a special children’s guide to the castle.
Crathes Castle and one of the painted ceilings
Here we are recommending a one night stop in a country house hotel where we have assumed a small suite of a double and a twin right at the top of the hotel.
Celts and Cashmere , Day Five
The next stop is Inverness and we recommend that you take a route which includes something for all the family. This countryside is rich in stone circles and Pictish standing stones (about which we can tell you more if this is your passion), but the first main stop is Archaeolink, where Bronze Age life is brilliantly recreated.
Archaeolink
You stay on side roads through to Huntly where there should be time to see the impressive ruined castle, built by the Gordon Earls of Huntly. However some members of the party may wish to head on to Keith and the Strathisla Distillery. Finally, and especially for Mum, the road takes you to Elgin and Johnstons Cashmere
Near Inverness we are recommending a farmhouse B&B but there is a good choice of hotels of all sorts in the area.
Culloden, Cawdor and Clava, Day Six
It is tempting to include Loch Ness early on, but there’s no need to do so as you will be driving the whole length of it when you head on from Inverness. Better perhaps to spend your time at Culloden Battlefield where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s 1745 Rising came to a bloody end, and at the wonderful Cawdor Castle which includes a nine hole pitch and putt course in its ample grounds. Small boys will enjoy Fort George - a perfect 18th century fortification complete with canons and small exhibitions of military life. And if the weather permits, perhaps an afternoon on the beach at Nairn.
The Beach at Nairn
Monster Country, Day Seven
Next day you head down beside Loch Ness to Drumnadrochit and some Investigations into Nessie. Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness (below) is also worth a visit; it has a children’s guide and is a convenient lunch stop. Fort Augustus at the other end of the loch offers boat trips and a good view of a flight of locks.
Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness
If it is a good day, you should all take the cable car up to Nevis Range – great views, endless walks and the fun as you go up in the gondola of seeing boy racers on the world championship mountain bike course below you. Your goal today is Ballachulish and the Isles of Glencoe Hotel which is geared to the needs of families and boasts a swimming pool and lots of ideas for daytime activities.
