NOW CLOSED Ever been on a family holiday to Scotland? Or fancy going on one? Share your thoughts with VisitScotland - there are 5 fantastic prizes to be won!

[AlexMumsnet]

VisitScotland would like to hear from those of you who've been on a family holiday to Scotland - or are planning one. Here's what they say:

"This year we are celebrating the Year of Natural Scotland and invite you to come and celebrate our outstanding natural beauty throughout 2013. We are a family friendly nation with loads to offer on a family holiday; from wildlife like the bottlenose dolphins of the Moray Firth, to the capercaillie of the central Highlands and the thousands of seals and puffins inhabiting our beautiful coastline. For city seekers, we have seven, all with a wealth of things to see and do on a family break. Visit our website to start your planning today! Also check out Embrace Scotland which has over 2,500 quality assured self catering properties across Scotland."

They're interested to know where you think the best places are for children to visit? Which regions cater for children best? Are you better off wandering the great outdoors with them or visiting a specific attraction? Would they have more fun in the countryside, Highlands or Islands or in one of Scotland?s seven cities?

If you haven't yet been on a family holiday to Scotland but are planning one (or just daydreaming of an escape!), please take a look at VisitScotland's family web section for some inspiration and share your thoughts on this thread.

Good value breaks are easy to find with a range of passes to enjoy savings, and we have 5 of these to give away! Everyone who adds their comments will be entered into a prize draw to win one of:

~ 2 x family passes from the National Trust for Scotland with attractions ranging from the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum to Crathes Castle, Garden and Estate. (worth £168, Valid for one year)

~ A 3 day family Edinburgh pass for entry into a wide range of tourist attractions in Edinburgh from Dynamic Earth to the Edinburgh Dungeon. (worth £158)

~ 2 x 3 day family Explorer Passes from Historic Scotland with attractions ranging from the Royal Castles of Edinburgh & Stirling to the ancient mystical sites of Skara Brae and Maeshowe on Orkney. (worth £116)

Also, if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning a 4* break in Melfort Village, Argyll please enter the separate Mumsnet VisitScotland competition here

We went a couple of weeks ago for a look around with a view to moving there but have a bit of a holiday too.

We visited the Time Capsule Water Park near Glasgow (Coatbridge?) which was excellent, enjoyed by all the family (aged 1, 5, 12, 27 and 31!)

We also visited Brahead Xscape near Glasgow which was great. We had a go at rockclimbing and the scary overhead Skypark, which was hood fun. They also had a snow slope there but we didn't have to time to take advantage. It had a good choice of food places, the TGI's was lovely, and a decent selection of shops.

We visited Livingston which was amazing for shopping and seemed to offer decent leisure facilities, but again, we didn't have time to sample them.

The Cramond Island is great too, it is just off Edinburgh shoreline and you can only cross when the tide is out. Fab for taking a picnic and exploring, but you need to keep an eye on the times of the tide or you could be taking an extended visit.

Driving home through the borders was lovely, it was beautiful, with streams flowing everywhere, castles and lot's of hills. Would like to go back there when it is warmer for some picnics and hiking.

I would love to go and visit a lot more of Scotland, so much so that I am trying to convince DP that we should move there.:)

We also visited the Linlithgow Palace, but dp accidently drove around the castle using the pedestrian path so we made a quick exit.

Stirling had a nice castle, which we where staying near so DP took dc on a latenight pretend ghost walk, they had great fun

We've had many happy family holidays in the highlands - the space is great for 2 young boys with lots of energy to burn! Favourites include the beaches of Dornoch, all the wonderful forest trails and the drama of the west coast.

A very dear friend moved to scotland and we have been promising to visit for ages. Dh and I have agreed this is the year however as we live very far away we want to make it worth it so are planning in visiting them and then moving on to another part and make a real holiday out of it. We just have no idea where to start. I've been many times for work but on to Edinburg so know nothing about visiting as a tourist and dh has never been so thank you these links are just what I needed to finally get cracking.

Really need to start planing as if we decide to fly we really should book soon for cheaper flights.

As a family we love city breaks as there is something for everyone, and we already live in a rural area. Edinburgh is on our list to visit as we would see the zoo, the castle and hit the shops.
We had a few days break in the Borders which was lovely, we visited Gretna, a few castles including a triangular one, and spent time walking.
I would love to visit some of the isles .. Shetland, Lewis and Arran to start with, and would love to search for Nessie! Would need to go out if midgie season as 3 out of the 5 of us react badly to bites!

We live in Scotland, and have lived all over, I grew up in Perth but spent a lot of my childhood holidays in the East Neuk (Fife) and near Aviemore, as that's where my grandparents lived. I met my dh while we were both Students at Edinburgh Uni, we lived in the Outer Hebrides for 10 years (Lewis and Harris) and now live in Glasgow!!

We holiday in Scotland every year (though would go abroad too some years). We almost always go back to Harris, we kept our house there when we moved to Glasgow. I never tire of it, it's so wild and beautiful, beaches to die for, our dc love the freedom there is there, we all appreciate the change from city life, and we've definitely not ruled out going back to live there one day.

If I was recommending anything I'd say spend a week in the central belt, going to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling has some good things too and it's castle is better than Edinburgh. Then a week either in the Cairngorms or on the West coast.

Other things to mention would be that transport in some areas can be a bit hit or miss, the very best time I always think is May, because it's before the midge season has started, and of course, the weather can be very hit or miss. There are now loads of cultural events, that are not the Edinburgh Festivals - the two that stand out for me are the Wigtown Book Festival and the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway.

Everyone should have a holiday in Scotland!

I think Edinburgh is a fantastic place to start, plenty of thins to entertain the kids such as the Zoo, the Castle, the Museum of Childhood (although some of those porcelain dolls may frighten younger ones) and just the general beauty. I have not taken my kids into the Highlands although they want to go, but I have teenagers that can cope with the walks and the isolation, even if they do want their blackberries to work in all 4 corners! Loch Lomond is great as it has the fabulous castle youth hostel with family rooms, and is in a good place to start exploring - if you take the car you can go to Glasgow as well, and see all the museums.

Ive not been to Kinross, Inverness etc so I cannot say on parts further north. Scotland is a great place to introduce kids to the idea of natural beauty, interesting nature (look up capercaillie - its a Scottish bird) and that holidays dont always have to be sunshine and beaches. With hearty breakfasts and interesting options such as Haggis, Lorne Sausage and Fruit pudding with your breakfast, kids will have the energy to march on all day.

Whether to go to the countryside or cities depends on your kids, but if you want to do both and dont have a car - there are tours from Edinburgh that are one day or more into the Highlands, and you get driven to the various bits on a minibus. Great way to see more without commiting to a big Highland journey.

I cant say enough about Scotland, I love the place.

We live in NE Scotland, but we haven't been here for long. As we've got two small DSs, 1 & 3, we can't really get far for holidays, but that's fine as we've got loads to explore up here. Last autumn we spent four nights in a holiday house in Newtonmore (just south of Kingussie/Aviemore). Newtonmore has a thing called the Wildcat Trail - differently painted fibreglass models of wildcats, over a hundred in total, hidden all over the village. You buy a map and a guide to the cats, and then walk around trying to find them and matching up the different cats the guidebook so you know which ones you've found. Our three year old LOVED it. It was a great holiday because we'd go out and do day trips to the wildlife park, Aviemore, mountains etc during the day and then come back and do an hour or so of wildcat-finding. It really made the holiday as it filled all those oh-crap-it's-still-an-hour-til-dinnertime-what-shall-we-do-moments.

In our local area we love Findhorn beach and village, Duffus Castle, Roseisle beach, Hopeman beach, the gardens at the Glen Grant distillery in Rothes (which have another find-the-animal type trail, great to the keep in the interest of the littluns) and all the lovely woodland walks around. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

We live in Aberdeenshire. The castles and walks around here are unbeatable, particularly if you have older children.

I agree that Aviemore is wonderful. We went for a week when DS was 3 months.

Edinburgh is great as there is so much to do. If you are coming to Scotland without a car I'd recommend either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Possibly Edinburgh for younger children (zoo, sea life centre, butterfly farm, botanic gardens) and Glasgow for older ones (shopping, Kelvingrove, Science Centre, Transport museum).

We have never been to the West Coast, but will likely holiday there in the next couple of years as we'll have two preschoolers and so won't be braving going abroad.

Yep, don't worry, it's fine to enter if you live in Scotland TerraNotSoFirma

We go to Scotland at least once a year - normally twice, we've done a lot of different places, but most frequently find ourselves going back to the area around Dumfries.

We're a keen cycling family and love the 7 Stanes Centres, and the fact that most of them have either rides that DD (age 3) can do with us, or playgrounds or nearby attractions for her.

We often stay near Castle Douglas as the food there is just amazing, there is a local butcher how makes the most gorgeous chicken and haggis pies, and the butcher across the road from him always has the nicest steaks. There are also some lovely little pubs, we've also stayed down in Rockcliffe, which DD just adored, we often go in early spring and again in Autumn, and we all just love the coast line.

The thing that always takes my breath away about Scotland it the landscape, I Just love the mountains the scenery and the tranquility you don't have to go far out of the major cities to feel like you've left the world behind.

I think people forget about Scotland, and don't even consider it as a holiday destination, I think they're missing out on an amazing experience, but also quite happy to keep it as our family secret

One last thing, is that so many people down south comment about how gruff the Scottish are, if anything I've found this to be the opposite, most people we've met up there have been kind, friendly and always go out of their way to talk to DD and involve her in whatever we go, be it just shopping in the villages, eating out or just exploring the country side.

They're interested to know where you think the best places are for children to visit? Which regions cater for children best? Are you better off wandering the great outdoors with them or visiting a specific attraction? Would they have more fun in the countryside, Highlands or Islands or in one of Scotland?s seven cities?

Well, we have family in Scotland, and as a kid spent weeks paddling in freezing water at beaches. Here are my recommended activities (based on my memories, and the kids' experiences)

Small children and cities don't always go well together - set them free on the shores of Loch Ness to spot Nessie, paddle and roam around Urqhurt Castle. Add in a Nessie spotting boat trip, and some Pan Drops.
Or, go to Skye, and clamber around the fields and burns or just drive really slowly behind a load of sheep......
Take wellies.
Inverness is great - Culloden for a bit of history, loads of playparks, and a cute floral hall near the swimming centre.
Edinburgh is interesting; a castle to see, and a zoo.
I think Scotland is all about being outside, in jumpers, trekking up hills, through burns, and springing on heather.
I love Scotland.

We're in Aberdeenshire too. It's such a good area as it's only a few miles from the city to some lovely countryside and shorelines. I love Edinburgh, pre child days and now with dd in tow. Loch Ness and the surrounding area is beautiful, will be taking dd there in the summer, she would like to catch a glimpse of Nessie.

yes, as a child. memories are

• big hills with purple heather
• sheep on a country road which town-dwelling parents tried to shoo out of the way in vain for quite a while
• being looked at pityingly when I asked for a coke and handed an Irn-Bru
• Father trying Haggis

We've been and would love to go again. First time with DS we stayed in a cottage on the waters edge at Kyle of Lochalsh. We saw plenty of wildlife icluding seals and an otter. Eilean Donan Castle was worth the visit and the staff there were great with DS then age6 giving him a proper sword (term?) to heft around at a safe distance!

Second time we stayed in a lighthouse cottage on the Mull Of Galloway. You'll not find a more spectacular setting. If you're happy with a low key holiday there was plenty to do - pretty much had the beautiful sandy beach at Drummore to ourselves all week in the late aug sunshine (pub there had great Thai upstairs), crabbing in Portpatrick harbour, rspb walks/activities, mooching round Wigtown's bookshops and eating cake. DS went up the lighthouse everyday it was open!

We've also taken DS to Edinburgh for a short break to incl the kids' science festival (that was a brilliant day). He also enjoyed Edinburgh Castle far more than I thought he would thanks to the fab audio tour. He had his introduction to Tapas in Edinburgh.

I went to Mull preDH/DS and would like to take them there. I also second the comment above that Scotland as well as family friendly is dog friendly and this plays an important part in us choosing where to go.

I also live in Scotland (Dornoch) but most of our holidays are in Scotland. As a family we have particularly enjoyed Ayrshire as there is so much to do and when the weather was bad we went to the Science centre in Glasgow.

Last year we didn't go away but did a few days trips in the Easter break instead. We went to the Highland Wildlife park and also for a trip on the Strathspey steam railway as a special treat for our train mad middle ds - I have never seen him more excited. It was a big success! Landmark is always good but my boys are probably a little young for it yet. Whin park in Inverness is lovely and we often go there after a mornings shopping.

We went to perthshire for a few days without the children for a special anniversary and would love to go back as a family. We really enjoyed visiting Blair Castle after driving past it for years, and Edradour Distillery was very interesting.

Closer to home there are lots of Forestry Commision forest walks that we love: Ravens Rock at Rosehall, Skelbo wood near Dornoch and Aldie Burn at Tain in particular, and lots of lovely beaches and golf courses. We are lucky to live here!

I am from Scotland, living in England and have taken my family up to Edinburgh often.
Edinburgh's buses are great and made a trip to Portobello really easy. We had a lovely day there on the clean beach. Other good visits were, the Chambers Street museum, the zoo and the Botanic Gardens. The children love Princes Street gardens because of the playground, the adjoining train line and the cafe at the art gallery.
We also took trips by train to Aberdour- lovely castle, gardens and beach and Stonehaven- great beach, nearby famous castle. Both trips very straightforward.
I would love to visit some of the Neolithic sites and the more northern beaches but we rely on public transport and I am not sure they are that accessible.

Oh also done day trips to Glasgow and enjoyed the Willow Tea Rooms and again, the Botanic Gardens. Children love the Underground and going on the top of double decker buses (cheap and easy!)

Millport and Largs are a firm favourite in our house. Largs especially for a trip to Nardini's for ice cream.
We love Millport and hiring bikes to ride around the island !
Glasgow for the science museum and the new transport museum. Both fabulous.
My favourite place ever is Barra, landing on the beack is a real treat.
It is like stepping back in time. The beaches are white sand and go on forever. Definitely a winner or the family.

Well I'm a huge fan of Scotland and secretly wish that I was Scottish. We used to go on holiday in Scotland every year when I was little and those are some of my best childhood memories - scampering around on the rocks by the loch looking for crabs and mussels.

I've yet to take my DD there but I'm planning a family trip to Edinburgh in the spring. DD is a big fan of castles so I'm hoping Edinburgh castle will be a big hit.

What I'd really like to do is take the family for a holiday in the highlands and islands but I worry it might be a bit miserable if it rained the whole time. Maybe when DD's a bit older and is better at entertaining herself.

I've been going to the Highlands (Ardnamurchan Peninsula) every year since I was born, first with my parents and now with my family. My children (and I when I was little) just love it there. The scenery is stunning and they love seeing so much exciting wildlife in one place - deer, stags, eagles, dolphins, otters, seals. All just on the doorstep. Where we go is on a loch beach so they just spend the day exploring, throwing stones in the water, building dams etc. I don't know the cities very well at all since we've only ever gone to the Highlands, and we tend to go for the outdoors and the freedom. It's a long drive from Devon as well so can't visit much more than we do! Definitely the best thing for us is the wildlife and outdoor life there. Local attractions can be great but sparse, often expensive and a long drive away. I always recommend the area to any families that like the outdoors.

Have had a few family holidays in Millport, which is great for small children as you can give them so much more independence than in London, and the journey by train is part of the fun.

We're taking a 4 and 1 yr old to Edinburgh this summer and I'd like to stay for some days after my conference, but can't find a good list of selfcatering flats or suites to stay in near the city. Any setup where there's 2 bedrooms in a safe joined space so the kids can't escape but MrNC in particular can sleep.

I'm in Stlrling and reading this thread makes me sad that I take all this lovely country for granted and I forget how wonderful it is! I can see the Wallace Moment from my kitchen window, I get into Stirling Castle for free as I live in the Royal Burgh, Linlithgow Palace is just along the motorway, Loch Lomond is a half hour drive

We love Aviemore - Last year we gave DD who is 6 the option of Disneyland in Paris or Aviemore and she chose Aviemore. Back up there again this year hopefully with some days out in Glasgow and the west coast

Helpful website, but when I try to enter the competition, the small print is on top of the Address fields and there's no button to submit the info (Android phone).

Wonderful to hear so many positive things about Scotland. And we use VisitScotland to rent out our house and cottage to tourists and they're fabulous!