Scottish holiday ideas

[Nuttyrubble]

Good afternoon all. This summer I'm thinking of Scotland for a UK holiday. We've already been around the borders, Ayr, Dumfries and Galloway and Edinburgh. So this time I'm looking at Glasgow, loch Lomond area. Thing is I would like somewhere by the beach, preferably a small town with some nice shops / pubs, somewhere to go in the evenings but also somewhere within easy reach of Glasgow so we can visit. We tend to base ourselves in a beachy town place for the DC but with things to do, places to visit during the day so a day trip to Glasgow, a day visiting a local castle etc. Can anyone recommend anywhere they think may fit the bill? Tia

Ardrossan, Oban?

I was going to say Oban, some good fish restaurants, Chippys and nice pubs. Can also do a day trip to Isle of Mull and see Balamory (Tobermory).

Luss or balloch sounds perfect. There's also the "haunted" drovers inn or ardlui on the loch too.

Thanks for the ideas everyone, I appreciate you taking the time to answer. Hopefully you are all safe after the awful weekend weather!

Mull is gorgeous and you can visit Iona i wouldn't personally holiday in Balloch Luss is nice though. Or head to Fife you have Anstruther, St Andrews Elle and crail its a wonderful coast line.,

I love Oban for so many reasons, I wouldn’t call it a beach town, yes by the sea which is great, but It depends how close you want to stay by the beach as opposed to driving to one - Ganavan sands is close. Or if the priority is being in a town for shops, eating out, etc

Oban is a great base as you could take day trips on the calmac as others have said, drive south to Kilmartin Glen area, visit Seil Island and the Slate island of Easdale, take a rib boat trip for wildlife, drive north. I would say plenty to do and see. I’ve had a few holidays there and I like just being in Oban for its busyness and atmosphere.

Ive never done it but there’s a train Glasgow to Oban I don’t think it’s quick though. Plus driving to Glasgow over two hours, so it’s not exactly close by. Might be worth checking out.

Someone said Fife - somewhere like Anstruther a small bustle harbour town with famous chippies, small beach, the coastal path, tidal pools for swimming, close to St Andrews, do-able to Edinburgh, Dundee for the V&A and the whole waterfront with Discovery. Or Elie has big beaches and a small town though I don’t think it’s as bustly or has as many shops cafes etc to Anstruther but someone more knowledgeable can correct me!

Happy planning x

Ive never done it but there’s a train Glasgow to Oban I don’t think it’s quick though. Plus driving to Glasgow over two hours, so it’s not exactly close by. Might be worth checking out.

The train to Oban from Glasgow takes three hours, longer when they slow it down around Loch Lomond and along the Loch Awe section when it rains a lot. It's become fairly unreliable, the first trains in the mornings during winter are so freezing that people bring little portable heaters and the toilets remind of the importance of my pelvic floor exercises. However, Ember is running buses from Oban to Glasgow, Edinburgh and to Inverness (via Fort William) and between Ember and Citylink we now have great long distance bus options. At the moment, with the bus fare caps you can go Glasgow-Oban (or Oban - Inverness) return for £4 (Citylink puts £1.50 booking fee on top, Ember doesn't). Oban to Edi is ~ £20.

Thanks for all your help some great ideas here. Liking Oban and Luss so far. I appreciate it.

As others have said already Oban isn't really a beachy town as such, there is Ganavan (with some smaller beaches on the way there) but there is Tralee beach in Benderloch about 15 min drive to the North, across Connel Bridge which is fairly accessible even without a car. West coast motor bus 405 to Benderloch is every hour, or Ember and Citylink buses drop you off there too, it's a 10-15 min walk from the bus stop. Stop at Jimmy's (Ben Lora Cafe) for a scone and an ice cream float and walk up Ben Lora (great views in all directions), it's a good day out.

I think you’d love oban, you can do a day trip
to mull from there too

St Andrews has a lovely beach

Not sure if its too far south, but have you considered Largs? You have the beach, Viking centre, large playpark on the front, get the ferry to Millport to cycle round the island. Kelburn castle and grounds nearby are lovely and lots of adventure areas for the kids. Glasgow is not too far. I have been to Oban many times and agree it is lovely, but not a lot to keep children entertained.

Helensburgh?
By the sea, though not really beachy.

Easy train to Glasgow, and the line to Oban.
Drive round the very quiet Kilcreggan peninsula, or up to Arrochar and Inverary (there's a castle).
No castle in Helensburgh but there is The Hill House, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Largs was my first though too and that coastline is lovely but wonder if it's got enough in the way of nice shops / pubs.
If you're going in summer be aware of midges on the west coast!

Yeah Oban definitely is better in the way of food/pubs, but Largs does have a few pubs with nice food, and of course Nardini's for ice cream. Both don't have a great deal of shops.

i would also say largs - and get the ferry to millport on the island of cumbrae. cycle round the island on hired bikes (shop carefully as it’s cheaper to hire off the main street) grab lunch a third of the way round at the cafe.

its busy on school holidays though. the ferry queue is long. dont take a car. the car queue is hours long. passenger queue much shorter.

as a pp said theres kelburn and vikingar. and the skelmorlie aisle mausoleum which is dinky and cool.

you can also get to millport or various other destinations like arran on the waverley paddle steamer. the last seagoing one in the world. it’s great. you do book that in advance. leaves from glasgow on the river clyde. or you can go from other places.

the other thing id like to do is get the tiny plane from glasgow airport (1hr 15m flight) to Barra. you land on the beach!!! google it. the water is beautiful. the sea is so blue. i’d love to go.

stirling castle is great and 45 mins by car from glasgow. in the opposite direction to the south of glaagow im the coast is culzean castle which is also great. i think you can use english national trust membership to get in but not sure.

the ayr festival of flight is around the first weekend in september. the planes are fab. i can almost still feel the vibration from the vulcan at the end. the noise was unbelievable. im defo going back.

glasgow has a transport museum and art gallery/museum, and the science centre.

re loch lomond as a pp said Luss is beautiful. google it. youd want a car to get there though. park in the large pay car park. it’s not dear.