Family trip to York and Scotland with children, any recommendations?

[LoudBee]

Off to York and then Scotland in August, really looking forward to it, taking DH DS and DD who is Sen, we plan on going to Jorvik Viking centre for day one and then next day off to Scotland, planning on going to see the Three sisters and drive through Glencoe, and one day booked for Edinburgh castle, always a bit worried if will be overwhelming for my DD who is only 9 years old, DS teenager 17
any recommendations to visit? Staying near Edinburgh, would have loved to go to John o groats as we went to lands end last year but the drive is just too far for a day. Any other recommendations for York and places to eat? Does anyone know if the Park and Ride Bus in York goes close to the Viking centre?

Yes the Kelpies! My chat GBT has suggested this! It’s on the list to see while we are there! Looks great! I’ve already booked Edinburgh castle so we have to go there now

Just do a Loch Ness Day Tour. The drivers know all the best places to stop for a quick visit. You will get so much more out of it than wrestling through the traffic and trying to figure out what to do by yourselves.

As far as future trips, if you love Scotland and like quieter places I really recommend Shetland, peaceful and great if you love wildlife, so much to see just from a lay by or car park! Another place is the moray firth on a wildlife boat trip but again not a day trip from Edinburgh.

I work for the National Trust for Scotland and can say with certainty that the car parks in Glencoe itself and at the NTS visitor centre will be extremely busy in August. They are busy almost all year round. Still very much worth seeing and the visitor centre is excellent, but be prepared for crowds.

How old are your DC? Glencoe could be a bit boring for them. Its mainly a scenic drive up an A road.
If you want to go to Edinburgh Castle then pre book the tickets. We were there last month hadn't pre booked. They had reached capacity so we couldn't get in. (We also couldn't see across the city from the top of the Royal Mile because the seating for the Military Tattoo had been erected).
Other places to consider are The Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies sculpture; The Royal Yacht Britannia; Stirling Castle; Strathclyde Park at Motherwell.

We have pre booked Edinburgh castle also the my son is 17 and my daughter is 9, it’s right up my sons street to get some lovely pictures and a long walk, he loves scenery so we thought this would be amazing for him, but yes my daughter may struggle, it can be hard to find the balance

What sort of things does your daughter enjoy?

Ok, you’ll need to get off at the bus stop by the Museum Gardens (the driver usually announces that it’s the city centre stop), and it’s about a 10 minute walk to Jorvik from there.

You’d be much better staying outside Edinburgh and getting the train into the castle. If you stay in or around Falkirk you have a direct train into Edinburgh, you’re near the Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel and better placed to drive through Glencoe. Accommodation will also be much cheaper than staying in Edinburgh and you’ll get some relief from the very busy crowds there for the festival.

Nothing would inspire me to drive in Edinburgh if it can at all be avoided.

The drive to Glencoe is really lovely - it’s my favourite drive, but it is long and will be busy this time of year. You could break things up by staying somewhere en route maybe around Loch Lomond?

Loch Lomond instead of Glencoe. Still gives you mountains and loch but more achievable in a day.

or a boat trip on the river forth to inchcolm island. Easy to get to from Edinburgh

do not take a car into Edinburgh. Train bus or tram.

Edinburgh castle is worth it and fabulous

You could do Camera Obscura on same day as Edinburgh castle, it’s very close. Dont bring the car into Edinburgh unless you have to, it will be so busy.

No way would I drive to Glen Coe for the day from
Edin, there are so many beautiful places much closer. You could go to the Trossachs/Loch Katrine via the Kelpies for much easier drive. Or Loch Lomond as pp suggested.

Scotland is one third of the UK’s total land mass even though it’s occupied by just over 5.5m people. The Scots do love it when people say they’re visiting Scotland like it’s just one town.

Sorry , think it’s madness in August to try Glencoe md Edinburgh. Stick with one and you’ll have a much better time. Also will you hit Festival time - have you checked? It will be a very different city experience if you will. There are lots of Mumsnet UK travel threads with activity and hotel tips.

And as others have said the roads the further north you get are not large motorways … and it’s very busy in the summer. Bear in mind that there are numerous ‘climate refugees’ now too - in other words holidaymakers from southern Europe, Belgium etc enjoying the cooler climate and occupying the roads!

where "near Edinburgh" are you staying? There's a big difference in journey times from being in North Berwick and Dunfermline!
Firstly, do not under any circumstances attempt to drive and park in Edinburgh city centre. There are a number of park & ride car parks on the outskirts of the city or take the train from near where you're staying. Find a park and ride – The City of Edinburgh Council
Buses within the city centre www.lothianbuses.com
Note that trams from Ingliston park & ride are currently only running as far as the west end stop following a building fire that's closed part of Princes Street. There is ticket acceptance on the trains if you change at Edinburgh Gateway and use the train into Waverley. Buses are also diverted and barely running to any sort of timetable due to the congestion!
The city will be busier than you can even imagine in August due to the festivals. Just getting up the Royal Mile to the castle will be a challenge.
Would I drive to Glencoe and back in a day with kids that age.....no!! There's loads of things you could see and do along the way and literally every American and his dog is doing Edinburgh-Glencoe-Isle of Skye these days so expect it to be packed with tourists who can't drive their hire car on the wrong side of the road.

York and Scotland sounds like a lovely combination, and I think you’ve picked some great places already. Glencoe is beautiful, but I’d definitely allow plenty of time to stop along the way because the scenery is the main attraction rather than just getting from A to B. We did a similar trip and hired a car through QEEQ so we could take things at our own pace, which was especially useful with children as we could stop whenever someone needed a break. Around Edinburgh, you might enjoy places like the Royal Botanic Garden or a quieter walk around the coast at places like Portobello if the city feels a bit much. For your DD, I’d probably plan some slower days between the bigger attractions rather than trying to fit too much in. York is very walkable, and Jorvik is a good choice, especially if your children enjoy history. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

I always roll my eyes a bit when people say something like "York and Scotland" as if Scotland is just another city to visit on a day trip.

How long are you actually in Scotland op? Where are you staying? If you're south of Edinburgh and driving round the A720 city bypass to get north that will add another half hour at least to your journey unless you're leaving at 6am. Although I guess you will be leaving at 6am to make a full day in Glencoe.

I agree with spending time around Stirling. The museum at Bannockburn is really interesting, agree that Stirling Castle is more interesting than Edinburgh. The Kelpies are amazing, the Falkirk Wheel. Lovely scenery. Callander is lovely, Killin.
Glencoe is not that special really.

But equally we've built a holiday round someone's desire to see a specific and random thing so if that's what your family want to do then just be prepared for a long and annoying drive and have a fab time when you get there. It is beautiful. You can get the chairlift up from the ski centre if you want to. Amazing views up there. I don't know the opening times right now though. You'd need to check.

In Edinburgh your son could climb Arthur's Seat. I'm guessing your dd couldn't. But he could go by himself, would take a couple of hours, there's usually a non-stop stream of people climbing so he won't get lost.

Id stick to the east coast of Scotland and see some of the pretty fishing villages - you coukd also get the train to North Berwick. And in edingburgh the Royal Yacht is worth a visit.

Edinburgh is a fantastic city but be prepared for it to be super busy as people are saying.
My ds has driven to Glencoe in a day ( from Glasgow ) so it’s doable. It’s a long time in the car but very scenic. It’s much more impressive than Loch Lomond or Loch Ness imo. Although driving to Glencoe up the West coast route will pass Loch Lomond. It’s an even longer drive and the roads up past Loch Lomond get very busy. But it’s very beautiful.

Have you booked accommodation you can cancel or adapt?

Perhaps York, onto Edinburgh and then head to Glencoe and stay the for a few nights and then back down towards south again?

I think if you’re paying for hotels anyway then having lots of different stays near all the places you want to visit makes it’s much easier.

@unsevered67 Glasgow to Glencoe is somewhat shorter than Edinburgh to Glencoe

You also need to book Edinburgh castle tickets in advance.

we went to the castle yesterday and it was super busy. It is quite a military themed castle. There are several military museums (the national war museum which I think is extra and several regimental ones), two prisons (one military, one prisoner of war), the Scottish Crown Jewels, royal apartments (a few rooms including where James VI AND I was born, the main hall, a chapel, the national war memorial. There are also some cannons and views on the battlements. It’s not my favourite castle, but I prefer more domestic ones. I’d also say the visit doesn’t take that long (though depends on interest - and the queue to see the Crown Jewels - honours of Scotland - can be long, though it does move quite quickly).

my kids loved the museum gardens in York. They also enjoyed the wonderlab at the railway museum and the castle museum as well as enjoying yorvik.

in Edinburgh, the national museum of Scotland on chambers street is good. Some of it is Scottish focussed specifically and some more general. The botanics are good and free. There is also the camera obscura which has lots of optical illusions.

You are best to get a bus into Edinburgh centre rather than drive. There are some detours at the moment because of a fire, but nothing to worry about. The trams are only running a partial route. Of course this may change by the time you come.

Edinburgh Castle is military themed because it’s an Army base 😊

we are staying at seton sands for 4 days, York for a day and night, Edinburgh castle already booked as well as disabled parking for my daughter is all sorted through Edinburgh castle, I’m only worried she probably won’t make steep hills and stairs, so that’s what I didn’t look into, we were going to leave seton sands on the Glencoe day about 7am, once there enjoy the sites with hopefully a seating view somewhere and let my older son have a wonder safely, I know it’s going to be tricky and why I’ve asked for tips, I’m trying to keep everyone happy but also do something different, my daughter can’t cope with queues and theme parks but she does love a sandy beach and water, my son wants to explore and always wanted to visit Scotland