8 hour road trip to Scotland with toddler

[Mouseymum]

Hi everyone,

DD, DH and I are going to West coast of Scotland on holiday next weekend for a fortnight - self catering, middle of nowhere, no phone signal! DD is 12mo and can't quite walk yet but is cruising proficiently and standing by herself. I am looking for tips to make this holiday as stress free as possible!

Specifically I guess I'm looking for tips please on keeping Dd entertained on journey, things to pack that I might not have thought of, and how to keep everything organised -she just seems to need sooo much stuff! How did you do holidays like this with your toddler?

TIA, wise mumsnetters!

Weve done a selfcatering Scotland holiday every year for a decade and the last few years have had DD who was 8 weeks, then a year, then 2.2.

At a year old, essentials for us were one of those structured backpacks that the toddler can ride in (we do lots of walking), a bucket of toys (we took Happyland figures mainly), a couple of favourite bedtime stories, and a favourite teddy.

With the drive, id set off straight after Breakfast. Few mini figures/small toys to play with and one of you sat in the back. Load a tablet with cartoons for once the toys are finished with. Quick loo break/nappy cjange after two hours and back on the go. Try and get another two hours of awake time.

Next stop - lunch and a really good run around. Back in the car, this time leave them in the back alone and maybe a blanket over for them to have a sleep. Drive until they wake. Hopefully with the engine and the big play at lunch theyll do a good three hours or so.

Then you are nearly there!

Where abouts in scotland are you headed?

Oh I also got some large sandwich bags from Ikea and did a days worth of clothes in each. - vest pants top hair clips and socks for daytime and another vest and sleepsuit for bed. Each in a sandwich bag, so seven.

We leave in the middle of the night. You can get a good way before breakfast and hopefully they sleep!

I need my sleep too much to do that

Hmm. Sanity. Sleep. It is a tough balance in our house.

We leave in the late afternoon, drive until late dinnertime, get out, eat, have a toddle / run about until bedtime, put into PJs, drive for a few hours, stop for a drink/cuddle and a break from the car seat, drive the rest of the way at night.

We do the same as Crispy - leave late afternoon and stop for tea en route. It means they sleep for a long time and driving is much quicker but we arrive before midnight.

This won't be possible if you need to collect keys during office hours.

We've done this too, and are of the 'leave early' school. Hammer north before most people get on the road, and DCs are still dozy. Load in night clothes if small.

Stacking are good for sandcastle building if you're near a sandy beach.

We drive from London to Scotland regularly. I'm of the crack of dawn persuasion - leave 5-6am, whizz through London rapidly, do a couple of hours on the motorway then stop for breakfast. We prefer to arrive not too late in the afternoon - that's what suits us best.

We do the other way around, Scotland to London. We are in the leave at 5am camp. Change out of pjs at the breakfast stop which we try to drag out until 8am, so Glasgow ish. Then stop every 2-3 hours on the way down. Takes a bit longer but everyone is happier.

Thanks everyone for sharing. We are off near Lochgilphead. The only constraint we have with the journey is that we are taking a couple of ferries to cut down on the road travel so need to make sure we're in time to catch the last ferry! Hopefully the roads will be kind
I like the sandwich bag idea for clothes, ThinkIveBeenHacked, sounds simple but effective!

Plan plenty of stops; we used to always stop at Tebay but it's quite busy every time we've been recently. Lots to listen to in the car. Keep your fuel topped up as we've had a few tricky moments driving round looking for a petrol station in the dark!

The easiest journey I did with the DCs was travelling through the night.

If it's daylight have an adult in the back with her, read stories, have breaks every 2 hours, find the service stations with swings etc.

If you are going up the m74 you could stop at strathclyde park.