Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

ID for flying to Scotland

63 replies

TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 10:38

Can kids fly without any ID to Scotland? Us adults have our driving licences but the kids haven't anything besides their birth certificates.

I have Googled but I'd like to hear from people who have done it recently please.

Also any recommendations on what to do with 6 and 3 year olds in Scotland very much appreciated.

OP posts:
Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:35

Driving or even train/plane then hire a car.
If you want to do a hill walk you could go to Glen clova. (Loch brandy is a nice one to do).
There's some harry potter thing in Edinburgh which also has the Scots monument to climb, a walk up Arthur's Seat and the Castle.
Stirling has a big castle as does Glamis which is a fantastic one to go and see and they usually have events on throughout the year.

I'm really not sure about travel docs I think either contact an airline or a travel agent?

Pencilsaremylife · 05/04/2023 13:35

@Wha i was trying to be helpful so save your snark. I actually live in Scotland and our city has an airport, I could helpfully reel off all of our local kid friendly attractions if Op was planning to fly here. I wouldn’t say that any of them are worth coming here especially for though as somewhere like Glasgow or Edinburgh has more to offer if OP hasn’t made up her mind yet.

emmathedilemma · 05/04/2023 13:37

I live in Scotland, I've spent at least a week away in a specific area every year for the last few years and there's still a lot of the country I haven't visited so you really need to give some thought as to what sort of trip you want......Edinburgh is a good city to start with and conveniently has an airport. Glasgow is more "gritty urban" IMO and more "big city" than Edinburgh (it reminds me more of Manchester) but still has plenty of tourist attractions. You might also be able to fly to Inverness or Aberdeen, Inverness is good for accessing the highlands but if you want to explore rural areas you'd really need to hire a car......although Aviemore is a good base for family breaks, is on the train line and has a fairly decent bus service by rural standards.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Flying Holidays
lsanny · 05/04/2023 13:38

Reason we are visiting is our 6 year old has said he wants to go, I've asked him why and he's said he just wants to go there, no details exactly.

I think you need to chat with him a bit more in depth and find out what his expectations of Scotland are. It's a big trip to be taking for your 6 year old and could easily disappoint him.

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:38

Yes maybe he is expecting hills and beaches or maybe just castles!

Original poster
TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 13:38

Hi @Hungrycaterpillarsmummy Probably worth starting your own OP for more replies.

But for a classic coastal holiday with kids, I'd recommend Croyde Bay in North Devon. Really lovely village and different options for types of accommodations (Cherry Tree Campsite is lush) with various towns nearby and attractions. Happy to recommend those to you if you like! Definitely worth driving if heading down that way but make sure you have a car that can get up hills, my Nissan micra got stuck up a few and I had to drive round to find alternative places and in one instance, had to park away from a Mini Zoo and walk there.

OP posts:
Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:39

Haha!

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:39

I gave you suggestions in the end 😜

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:41

Oh also The Jacobite steam train does a wee trip along the west coast! That would be good fun!

Original poster
TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 13:42

Thank you for the suggestions so far and I hope I do get more.

My plan was to collect a group of suggestions and then go through then with my 6 year old so he could see what's there.

He said he had learnt about Edinburgh at school and wants to see bagpipes being played (as he loves them) but he also wants to climb a big hill.

OP posts:
Original poster
TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 13:42

emmathedilemma - I don't really like using that site, been let down too many times and certainly don't agree with its "top 10" where I live

OP posts:
Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:43

I just looked at that top ten and I agree...it's not what I'd pick

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 05/04/2023 13:45

I think Edinburgh does sound like the starting place for you op. Castle is up a hill, bagpipes a plenty, Arthur's seat to walk up.
The train to Glasgow doesn't take long. I personally would avoid Aberdeen

midgemadgemodge · 05/04/2023 13:46

Edinburgh , and climb Arthur's seat then - quite big enough for most 6 year olds

Add a trip to the coast

Shopper727 · 05/04/2023 13:47

Stirling, also has a castle and hills, Safari park, kelpies nearby good base to explore and be able to visit Glasgow or Edinburgh

liveforsummer · 05/04/2023 13:52

TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 13:42

Thank you for the suggestions so far and I hope I do get more.

My plan was to collect a group of suggestions and then go through then with my 6 year old so he could see what's there.

He said he had learnt about Edinburgh at school and wants to see bagpipes being played (as he loves them) but he also wants to climb a big hill.

Then Edinburgh is perfect - bagpipes in the street, various hills - Calton hill and Arthur's seat within the city centre plus you have many more in the suburbs. Castle and various museums, botanic gardens. I'd not drive though - parking is a night and expensive and all those things are well within walking distance. Why not get the train?

Original poster
TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 13:56

Ah perfect thank you all! Edinburgh it is, I will use that to start searching in depth with my DS.

Erm I looked up the train... unless I'm doing something seriously wrong, it was coming out over £1k for the 4 of us

OP posts:
liveforsummer · 05/04/2023 13:57

Oh and there is the zoo in Edinburgh too, ghost walks and dungeons if he is brave. Science festival on just now, fringe festival in summer

Pencilsaremylife · 05/04/2023 13:57

Most kids like the idea that Edinburgh Castle is built on a volcano. The entry fees to the castle can be as steep as walking up the Royal Mile is (loads of tartan gift shops) it’s a Historic Scotland site and they do explorer passes rather than having to join for a year, that can be cost effective if you plan to do a few of their sites. Edinburgh has a Zoo, Deep Sea World and has the massive Museum of Scotland Free entry very hands on for kids and also the museum of childhood Free entry has just reopened. All good places for small children

liveforsummer · 05/04/2023 13:59

You must have been doing something wrong 😆. Where are you travelling from (roughly) worth buying an family and friend rail card as long journeys it normally more than coveted the cost with the discount provided. I think I saved about £80 last time I used one and it cost £30 at the time so even with purchasing card that is valid for a year I still saved £50 on that one journey alone. Travel again and you get the full savings

emmathedilemma · 05/04/2023 14:01

ok, take it with a pinch of salt, i was only trying to be helpful to try and narrow your search down from an entire country 🙄
What dates are you looking at trains for? It might be that the cheapest advance tickets aren't on sale yet, or if you're booking from a "suburban" station you often don't get the best ticket prices because advance fares aren't available on those routes, and hence it applies the full fare to the whole jounrney. e.g. if you're going Thetford to Edinburgh for example you're usually best to book an advance ticket with LNER from Peterborough to Edinburgh and then a separate ticket from Thetford to Peterborough. The split ticketing website is useful. You might also be quids in by buying a family railcard.

Original poster
TwittleBee · 05/04/2023 14:05

Ahhh yeah that makes sense. So I should look to seperate the trains out? Thank you @emmathedilemma - currently would be 4 changes to get to Edinburgh so should look at them separately?

OP posts:
Pencilsaremylife · 05/04/2023 14:06

Oops press send too soon in Edinburgh there are also plenty of tourist hop on hop off type buses to get around. The trams although limited in scope are fun if your children haven’t been on a tram before. If your 6 year old is at school be aware the school holidays dates are slightly different up here so that may affect accommodation costs.

MumOfYoungTransAdult · 05/04/2023 14:09

The main airports are Glasgow and Edinburgh. Plenty to do for kids and adults in both cities. What do you and your family like doing? Will you be hiring a car?

Edinburgh is more compact, parks, gardens, cafes, museums, shops, Castle, Royal Mile, Parliament, Holyrood Palace, loads of touristy stuff all quite close together. Arthur's Seat and Calton/ Blackford/ Corstorphine/ Craiglockart hills in the city and there's the Pentlands not far away. Corstorphine has the zoo, Calton has all sorts of historic stuff. The Botanic Gardens are also on a nice hill, with views and cafes.

For coast you could easily get to Aberdour (castle and beach) across the rail bridge, or North Berwick (seaside town) also on the train, or Gullane (gorgeous dunes) by car, or just get the bus to Portobello.

If you even said which of the "top 10" things you were interested in and why then you might get some lowdown on what they are really like and alternatives. You didn't give us much to work on. Edinburgh alone has a shedload of different things to do that I haven't mentioned so you're asking other people to do a lot of guesswork for you.
Edit