London to Newcastle, then Newcastle to Lochgilpead - suggestions to break the journey

[BusyFrizzyLizzie]

We have a couple of long stints in the car this half term and I was wondering if any wise MN-ers can recommend places to stop and things to do to break up the journeys?

We have a 3 year old and a 4 year old. The 4 year old has her arm in a cast so we'll have to avoid anything overly-energetic like soft play or trampoline parks. Castles always go down well, as do child-friendly museums.

Leg one: leaving north London and heading to Newcastle upon Tyne.

Leg two: Newcastle to Lochgilpead in Argyll.

Leg three: Lochgilpead to London.

If anyone can recommend fun and interesting places to spend a couple of hours in between any of those (random!) legs of the journey I'd be very grateful.

London to Newcastle - fountains abbey.

We’ve broken a similar journey to your leg 1 at Diggerland. It was a fantastic few hours.

Leg 2 - if travelling over to Carlisle then up M74, I’d be tempted to stop off at Glasgow - either science centre (paid) or Kelvingrove / Riverside museums (both free). Possibly riverside. All easy to access from motorway and never had a problem getting parked (paid).

Or, if you’d prefer to split leg into two and miss Glasgow, a second stop could be Balloch to stretch legs and get a refreshment. Glasgow to Lochgilphead stretch can take a while - don’t underestimate it. We always put stop at Inverary for coffee/ stretch legs/ loos (and Inverary jail museum if minded).

Another shout would be to stop south of Glasgow at Chaterherault country park.

I came on to say Glasgow! I’d recommend Pollok Park - Burrell Collection is really interesting, and there’s a good cafe. Also a brilliant play park with a coffee van (usually). Easy to get to from M74/M77 and then back to the M8 if you’re going for either the Erskine Bridge or Dunoon ferry.

have a lovely time! My dh is a GP in Argyll (though not covering Lochgilphead!!) and it’s lovely.

Thank you all for these excellent suggestions. Mumsnet really comes up trumps!

And yes, @AnotherFuckingUsername that Glasgow to Lochgilpead stretch is a killer. My dad lives in Crinan and it's alway somewhere around Inverary that I find myself thinking "I can't believe I'm still f-ing driving!".

Off to draw up a detailed itinerary. Thanks again.

London to Newcastle - Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 5 mins off M1 J38
Outdoor sculpture (decent stuff, Barbara Hepworth etc) indoors and out, acres and acres to walk and run in.

Or Pugney's Country Park - 5 mins off J39 to the east. Basic cafe, playground, walk, and the castle/hill from "The Grand old Duke of York".

Or Blacker Hall Farm shop/cafe 5 mins off J39 to the west. Fantastic food, brilliant cafe, field to run around.

Whatshalfway.com is a good website for working out where to break the journey.

How about Strathclyde Park at Motherwell?

(We do Bristol to the Isle of Mull on a regular basis).