Help me plan a week in Scotland

[Needhelp101]

Hello vipers

My sons (14 and 12) and I are off to Glasgow for week at the end of the month. We've very kindly been lent accommodation there so will use that as a base but would love to explore more of the country.

Apart from (obviously) a trip to the Festival, where else would you recommend? I personally would love to visit the Highlands but any other suggestions of where to go/what to do/restaurant recommendations etc would be much appreciated (although I should mention we are on a pretty tight budget though).

just a few ideas from me…..

Train from Glasgow central to Ardrossan and get the ferry to Arran for the day or overnight. It’s about 50 mins on the train and another 50 on the ferry. Or you can drive. Arran is lovely and very close to the central belt.

Take a bus or drive to. St Andrews. University town, lots to do and see. Spend a day at west sands beach and get a cheesey toasty (as seen on tik tok). Walk round the town, lots of shops and cafes. Spend a night at either the old course hotel or the fairmont. Both lovely. You would also get some nice air bnb options in the town.

visit Loch Lomond and the surrounding areas. Luss is a lovely village to walk around. Or Loch Lomond shores have a bit more to do and see.

Visiting the highlands is also a good option. It’s quite far from the central belt though.

in Glasgow your kids will love Level X one of these super cool bowling and golf places with VR etc.

Hope this helps

"The Highlands" is a huge area! What do you and your sons enjoy? Hiking, sports, nature, birdwatching, historic sites? Also, it can take much longer than you'd think to get anywhere outside the Central Belt.

You'd struggle to get to the highlands for a day trip. Although the roads are a 60mph limit you can't always go that fast. The roads might be twisty or steep hills or single track or you get stuck behind 5 camper vans/tractors with no safe way to overtake.

Stirling is really nice. There's the castle and Wallace Monument. Nearby is the Falkirk Wheel and Kelpies.

I was in St Andrews last week. A beautiful town to walk around but it was really busy. We picked a nice day, had lunch at Zizzi's and sat outside (not very exciting but I have kids a bit younger than you, so an easy lunch spot). We went to the aquarium but it my took us 50 mins to go around.....

Have you been to Scotland before? Is there anything you really want to see/do?

Where in Glasgow are you staying? It is a pretty large city. I know I booked a hotel expecting to walk to my DS’s and it was actually a 20 minute car drive.

Anyway, if you are anywhere near Shawlands, Cafe Strange Brew serves fabulous food (brunch - pancakes 😘) large portions, reasonable prices. Actually the portions are so large I always ask for a half size, but I'm sure your teens will manage! They don't take bookings but have a text service so that you can wander and they call you back to a table.

It is hard to know what your teens might like and what would be different to home.
I love the West End. Book shops, Vintage, really like The Bookclub for lunch.
Some great concert venues.
There are a couple of large trampoline parks too. Great fun, if it isn't something you access at home.

Out of Glasgow we visited the Kelpies, and the Falkirk Wheel, Stirling, including the castle and the battlefield/ museum - Battle of Bannockburn - if anyone loves history.

Edit to add crossed post!

Do you have a car or will you be using public transport?

If you have a car I'd drive to Glencoe and take the chair lift up to the top.

Ignore the suggestion of a ferry - they can be unreliable, your accommodation is in Glasgow and you "only" have a week so not ideal if the ferry is off for a day or two and you're on the island!

Get the Scotrail app. Two stations in Glasgow city centre, and of course some in the Greater Glasgow area. Take trains to Edinburgh and Stirling. Can drive or take trains to St Andrew's or Dundee (there are some historic ships and the V&A there if you like history). Highlands is a large area - depends what you are into. There are also dozens of villages available for a wander if you and the DC like that sort of thing

P.S. Mondays and Tuesdays are 2 for 1 at the Fringe. Although maybe the Fringe does kids tickets, I've never needed to know. Some shows definitely not suitable for u18s though ;-)

If you have a car and like a hike then Be. A’an is an easy day trip (steep hike) with amazing views. Also the Falkirk wheel and the Kelpies.

Yes, I’m afraid I found Arran really boring! Sorry to the person who suggested it! (I’m from Stirling). 30 mins train from Glasgow Queen Street to Stirling and you have the Castle and the Monument and the old town, though to be fair Edinburgh and Stirling castles are a bit similar. Loch Katrine and the Queen’s View are quite accessible and give a good flavour of the Highlands.

As a Dubliner just back from St. Andrews I highly recommend it !!! Lovely town , so pretty .
We had a golf mad teen with us but even if not it’s still lovely . Really cheap crazy golf right beside the famous ‘Old Course’ ! Cost a pound for kids and two pounds for adults .
Stunning beach and strand also .

Have you visited Edinburgh? So much to do and see there . Although it was very busy today !!

Scottish people are the nicest I have ever encountered.

Loch Lomond is very close by and accessible by car and public transport. If you’re in the car, and weather is halfway decent, I’d suggest going to Balmaha and walking up Conic Hill - a very gentle climb as far as Scottish hills go. Amazing views right at the border between Highlands and Lowlands. And when you get down, options for nice pub food or lovely picnic spots on the lake shore.

Weather has been so awful here so have some indoor backups. Museums and art galleries in Scotland are free. The Riverside Museum or Kelvingrove in Glasgow are great. The Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is huge and well worth a visit. The Edinburgh Dungeons and Mary Kings Close are fab if you like history. However, these will be pricey for the 3 of you. If you have Tesco club card vouchers though they can be used. I second Stirling and Falkirk as day trips. If the weather is fair, try and bag a Munro!! Have a great time and hopefully the sun will shine for your family to do some outdoor exploring!

Yes, Mary King’s Close is brilliantly spooky!

Bear in mind the Festival finishes on the 26th August.

I'd recommend a day in each of

Glasgow
Edinburgh
Stirling
Loch Lomond
Arran or Cumbrae

All of which you can get to by train (plus boat for Arran of Cumbrae) from Glasgow

If you are travelling by train you can get kids tickets for £1. Buy your adult ticket and take it to a ticket office or on board staff member who will let you buy tickets for up to 4 kids for £1 each. It’s a huge saving if you’re going through to Edinburgh, for example and applies to kids under 16.

If you buy a kids ticket for £1 you can get one free child’s ticket to a huge number of tourist attractions including Edinburgh Zoo, Camera Obscura, Royal Britannia etc. Google “kids for a quid” or look on the ScotRail website - I’ve saved a small fortune doing days out on this deal.

Pitlochry area is fantastic for active teens, nice hikes, water sports including rapids, massive zip wire with lovely walks in the vicinity so something for everyone. There is also a go ape not too far. Would need you to have a car though

Can recommend Dollar Glen. Recently took an American visitor of our family there. She loved it. She paid to look around Castle Campbell.

I love St Andrews, but would recommend going further along the coast to Elie. Went this summer and we had a fantastic time, it wasn't over crowded.

St Andrews is an absolutely mobbed shit show just now with the AIG happening imminently.

East Neuk (if you're driving) is MUCH better and has less viscous seagulls than the cheesy toast shack - they were even on the tv about it!

Unless you're golf daft, I'd avoid till Sept at least.

Dunkeld is lovely and has the Hermitage walk and the new Perth museum has the Stone of Destiny if you're in any way interested in Scottish History.

If you have a car, drive to Ayr, and to the "electric brae" (which is between Ayr and Maybole) and join the line of cars rolling backwards up the hill. That's not too far, IIRR, from Culzean Castle, but I don't know what entry fees are for that.

Train to Largs then hop on a ferry (about 10 mins) to Cumbrae. The bus meets the ferry at the other end and takes you to Millport where you can get bikes at one of the many hire shops and cycle round the island. It's wonderful - a real Glasgow day trip tradition so almost no cars on the island. Ferry and bus are only a few pounds. Because so many people do it you can hire all manner of interesting bikes if you want, like tandem or conference bikes.

In Glasgow take a walk round the necropolis. Amazing old grave stones and great views.

Get hop on hop off bus tickets in Glasgow and visit the Riverside Museum (free entry and great) and Pollok Park to see highland cows. There is a Degas exhibition in the Burrell Collection in Pollok Park at the moment.

If your DC like BMX or skateboarding, The Loading Bay is easy to get to from the city centre and you can hire equipment and helmets.

The Science Centre is wonderful and not only for children. There's an iMax, flight simulator and star theatre (I forget the name) as well as plenty of interesting activities. The tower too, if it's open.

The Kelpies and Falkirk wheel.

Train to Largs and ferry over to Cumbrae which takes 10 mins. In the town of Millport you can hire bikes (incl electric) and cycle or walk the 10 mile circular route around the island.

It's a small country

Come on OP. You know what you like, do some research and look at pictures and do it yourself 😊

If you don't have a car but still want to see loch Lomond, get the train to Balloch and take one of the boat trips out on the loch. Otherwise, I second the suggestion to drive to Balmaha and climb Conic Hill - the views are spectacular for such a modest walk.