Help me plan trip this July

[Scottishexplorer]

I would be really grateful for some advice from wise Mumsnetters on here.

We are planning a last minute holiday in Scotland. Two adults, two kids age 10 and 14 and we would have 6 nights.

The kids would like to stay in Edinburgh for nights 1 and 2. We need to end up to meet friends in or near Stirling on night 6.

I don’t want to have to drive more than two hours from the destination we stay at on night 5 to Stirling on night 6.

Where can we stay and visit on nights 3, 4, 5? Any advice on where to stay accommodation wise?

Edinburgh is lovely. Do you have any interests as a family? History buffs/sporty types/culture vultures/foodies?

@YourLoudLilacGuide Thank you for your reply! We love history and walking, kids love science/STEM/gaming/tech. In Edinburgh I was thinking National Museum of Scotland for sure.

Calton Hill is great on a clear day you can wander up and see for miles with beautiful views over the city. Great photo opportunities.

It's also a nice walk at Dollar Glen which is near Stirling so probably a good one to do day 4 or 5.

Perhaps Dunkeld and Birnham? Lovely forest to visit there

Kelpies in Falkirk?

The children will love the Earth Museum in Edinburgh. It’s near Holyrood House.

Falkirk - the Kelpies and the Falkirk wheel are worth visiting. Jupiter artland outside Edinburgh is interesting - a large outdoor art park. Glasgow science centre.

Camera obscura perhaps in Edinburgh? Nice beaches in the east nuek of fife.

This sounds a fab trip and you have lots of options. I would advise a couple of nights in Perthshire (stay in Dunkeld and go to the Hermitage for amazing walk, also the Birks of Aberfeldy close by and another lovely town). Two nights in Stirling as Stirling is great - castle, lovely hill to climb, pretty town centre. Then you don’t have too much travel.

If you fancy highland scenery there is nowhere on earth like Glencoe. Depends if that’s your thing as it’s more travel. It’s like wonder land.

In Edinburgh, I would definitely recommend Arthur's seat for a nice walk. It's right next to an attraction called Dynamic Earth which might fit the bill for STEM / Tech too.

Is there any reason not to consider Glasgow? The Science center is huge and pretty fun for older kids, and it's very near to the Riverside museum (transport) and Tall Ship, both of which are free.

What about 2 nights in Glasgow and 1 night in Falkirk to see the Falkirk wheel and have a walk by the canal?

Thanks so much everyone! Just googling these ideas which are great!

Edinburgh & Stirling are quite close - hour roughly on the train. Where else to visit depends on whether you want city or seaside or countryside - Fife coastal areas are lovely and not far at all. Dundee is a fairly standard city but also not far & has V&A and several other museums, the Discovery ship & the Unicorn ship - quite easy to see all of those in a day, so you could stay somewhere more rural and do Dundee in a day trip.

Depending on budget there are hotels in castles or interesting places to stay like the Pineapple - I'll find a link.

Agree the Kelpies & Falkirk wheel are great, also Linlithgow palace nearby.

https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/properties/pineapple/

The Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre is near Stirling too.

Stirling would be a good base for the full trip - easy to get the train into Edinburgh and Glasgow for museums but also on the doorstep of the trossachs national park for outdoor activities. If you’re driving then you might struggle to find accommodation in Edinburgh with parking.

This is a good point.

The villages around Stirling are nice. Aberfoyle has queen Elizabeth forest which is great and has a Go Ape.

It's well placed to explore the Trossachs and easy access to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

If they like animals then either Edinburgh zoo or Blair Drummond safari park are good days out. Blair Drummond is well set out to see everything on foot if you value your windscreen wipers. It also has the option to by pass the monkeys if you do the drive through. I don't think they are as notorious as others in any case!

I think ScotRail have an offer on kids entry to Edinburgh zoo if you travel on their trains.

Another vote for Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel. Seeing the wheel in action is really interesting.

And the Camera Obscura in Edinburgh.

If you stay in Edinburgh go to the beach somewhere? Portobello is in Edinburgh and has pizza, ice cream, amusement arcades? Or go further out to Aberlady or Belhaven? Go to Foxlake then have a picnic on the beach. It's a 10-15 minute walk.

Or there's the new surfing thing at Ratho. I've forgotten the name. Or tobogganing or skiing at Hillend? You can get the chairlift up into the Pentlands and do some walking if you don't fancy skiing? Amazing views from up there.

Lost Shore surf resort is the surfing place at Ratho.
There's a chairlift up the Pentlands?? News to me!! Surely the one at Hillend is just for skiers?
Dundee University is highly regarded for computer science / gaming development etc but I don't know if there's anything in the way of museums or exhibits that are open to the public. It might be worth investigating if they're into that sort of thing.

Sounds like you are taking the car. You will need to stay somewhere with reasonable parking. Edinburgh Park area hotel have this and are on the tram so an easy 30 mins to the centre. It will only take you 40 mins to drive to Stirling so no need to change hotels.

You could consider staying in one place and doing day trips. St Andrews and Perthshire all easy drives.

Hotel prices in Edinburgh are totally eyewatering though.

Me and my 14 year old loved camera obscura in Edinburgh recently.

My DC and all nieces and nephews absolutely love the alpine rollercoaster just outside of Edinburgh, adults do too! Book 3 rides each.