Tell us about your happy family holiday experiences in Scotland and if you haven't been where would you like to go? Chance to win £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED!

[AaronMumsnet]

Going on a family holiday doesn’t have to mean venturing to far off lands, and there can be lots to experience closer to home. Scotland is so easy to get to and can be an ideal family holiday destination. VisitScotland would love to hear about the family holidays you’ve had in Scotland - and if you haven’t been, where in Scotland would you like to visit?

Here’s what VisitScotland has to say: Scotland celebrates the Year of Young People in 2018 #YOYP2018 and what better time to visit to enjoy a fantastic holiday experience across any of its regions. We’re a country packed with family friendly activities; from the great outdoors including wildlife, beaches and country parks to historic castles and stately homes and lots in between. Check out the National Trust for Scotland’s new playful gardens and playparks opening this spring at Brodie Castle in Moray and Newhailes House and Gardens outside Edinburgh. There’s also fantastic opportunity to visit Scotland’s islands – an adventure on a Cal Mac ferry to a west coast island or Northlink for a ferry to the Shetland and Orkney islands is all part of the adventure! What’s more, there's plenty of quality accommodation and unusual ones to boot! Ever thought about staying in a yurt or tipi, a converted church or lighthouse.

Be inspired to find out more on our unmissable family attractions, outdoor adventures and top 50 family hotspots in Scotland – check out www.visitscotland.com/holidays-breaks/family/

What happy memories do you have from a family holiday to Scotland? Do you have tales from visiting some of Scotland’s castles, islands, National Trust sites, beaches or parks? Have you looked into visiting and found some interesting accommodation? Would you like to visit Scotland’s cities or experience the great outdoors?

Whatever your family holiday memories or what you’d like to do in Scotland, share this below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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Moray - it's a hidden gem for weather and full of beaches. We love Findhorn and the along that coast. The playground at Brodie castle and Nelson's Tower in Forres along with the gardens is a favourite too. :-)

My first Scottish holiday to Kircudbright - three weeks playing on beaches, cycling in forests and having a wonderful time.
We stayed in a our caravan and the lady who owned the site made me a doll birthday cake.

We then moved to Scotland so I get to experience it all the time. I’ve not been to Shetland tho, would like to visit one day.

We had a fun family holiday to Scotland, going up to Fort William on a sleeper train and climbing Ben Nevis. We also went to Inverness and enjoyed going on Loch Ness. Such a lot to see and the people are so friendly, and of course it's nice to be able to travel without the hassle of passports and flights yet be in a different country.

We've taken DS to Scotland when he was very small but he doesn't remember as he was only a few months old. Both children are desperate to visit so I'm going to enjoy reading everyone's comments as I need to plan a holiday there.

From our experience I remember two main things. One, feeling empowered to breastfeed while we were there as at the time Scotland was the only place in the UK where you couldn't be asked to stop and I sat - still nervously but emboldened - and fed baby DS after we'd been to the aquarium. I also remember a lovely afternoon at Edinburgh Zoo. It was hilly but beautiful. We stopped to watch a wild bird demonstration and the bird of prey they'd been showing off just flew off into the distance. The zoo staff just said "sorry, he does this sometimes. That's the end of the show" and off we went to see something else. I hope the bird came back eventually

Went to Scotland for holidays every other year as a child as family are from Scotland. I haven't taken my own children yet, and this is the year we are finally all going, the whole family. Probably one of the most magical things I remember from a pre-children holiday with DH was seeing deer on the beach at sunset on Skye - so peaceful and beautiful. The children are very excited and looking forward to beaches and climbing mountains. I just can't wait to smell the air again - I've missed it so much.

I went to Edinburgh once, many years ago, which was fun, but sooo cold. It's on my bucket list to have a proper holiday in Scotland one day. Not sure where, but somewhere with fantastic walks and scenery. Maybe Arran?

I quite fancy a city break to Glasgow, I'd stay somewhere fancy in the west end.

We live in Scotland we often go away in our camper . Loch earn is lovely and so is glen Nevis . Would love to do the island some day as well. My favourite place to visit is Edinburgh so much to do. I'm taking the kids this week as a day trip

We go to Scotland every year on holiday and have been for new year, summer holidays and half terms.
The drive up there is spectacular.
We usually go to Dumfries and Galloway and ardnamurchan peninsula but have also been to Edinburgh, Inverness and Aviemore. Just before Christmas we went up on the sleeper train to meet the Cairngorm reindeer in the snow. It was the most Christmassy experience, so many people thought we were in the North Pole from photos. The year before we went up on the Caledonia Sleeper train to ride the ‘Harry Potter’ train across glenfinnan viaduct, it was amazing.
The beaches are beautiful and again friend have mistaken them for Caribbean beaches; white sand over a mile long with hardly anyone on there. Crystal clear water and safe for the kids to swim (a bit too chilly for me though!). We stay on the coast and have seen dolphins, otters, golden eagles and deer all roaming wild.

Tobermory is lovely, as are the islands nearby; muck, eigg. Seeing the puffins just wandering about so close was a brilliant experience

I'd love to go to Inverness mainly to indulge my Outlander obsession.

Happy memories of family holidays every year, self-catering in the West of Scotland. Starting with Loch Caron, when I was four. Some of my highlights: The amazing high tea at Fort William, "under the mountain", would like to return and walk it now. Beautiful endless expanses of sandy, clean beaches at an amazingly sunny Southernness. The wildness of the Isle of Whithorn, particularly remember walking along the quiet coast to St Ninian's Cave. What seemed like the very biggest most amazing bookshop in the world in Glasgow. The excitement of taking our car on the Caledonian Macbrayne ferry to visit Dunoon - bracingly rough crossing spent up on deck, windswept and watching the waves. Returned for a short break a few years ago, spent time on Arran, think it just might be THE most perfect place ever, though apparently Skye is pretty good too - hope to confirm that sometime

This is a very timely thread for me, as we are hiring a motorhome this summer and spending a couple of weeks touring Scotland. We are actually planning our route this weejend, so great to hear everyone's comments!

I am Scottish and have lived here all my life. DH and I have seen quite a bit of Scotland already, but the kids have only really known Glasgow,Edinburgh and Fife, despite having travelled to lots of other parts of the world, so we thought it was time to put that right! We are planning to go up the West (Oban, Mull) , see as many of the islands as possible, then across the top , over to Orkney if we can, and down through Inverness, Fort William etc. I'm hoping the kids will love it as much as I do!

I went to a holiday park with my family when I was a child and really enjoyed it, horse riding and mini golf. I would love to visit Edinburgh as my daughter is applying to go to the university

When our son was six months old (2011) we (and three close friends) walked the 100 mile west highland way from just outside Glasgow to Fort William. Over the nine days in September we had every type of weather conceivable but amazingly, no midges.

Accommodation ranged from hostels, log cabins and camping.

It was the best holiday I've ever had. I'm smiling just typing this.

I went to Edinburgh for Easter last year with my husband (anniversary trip) and had a fantastic time. So much to do that we hope to go back again this summer with the children and explore even more, there were so many museums and sites packed into one city.

We went up on the train which I was dreading as it was a 7 hour trip - the scenery was spectacular though and the time flew.

My personal highlight was exploring The Royal Yacht Britannia as I has just watched the first series of The Crown so it seemed very vivid to me!

The only downside was the train back - we couldn't book seats and as it was a Bank Holiday and there were railworks too, the train was packed. We literally stood all the way from Edinburgh to our connection in London. I don't want to repeat that in a hurry so lesson learned - never doing that trip again without a reservation!

We went on holiday to Scotland a lot when I was a child. One of my favourite memories ever was being allowed to sit on a cliff and watch the sun go down over the sea before we headed back. I remember being amazed that the pink and purple sunset turned green. Must have been the Northern Lights though I didn't know it at the time. I've never seen a more spectacular sunset, not even in Africa.

I remember Plockton, with Highland cattle bells chiming as they wandered along the beach grazing dune grass and seaweed, and the tiny one-palm-tree islands out in the bay, like a cartoon desert island. (And when I was older, the bar by the beach that sells pretty much every single malt ever made)

I remember swimming with sea cucumbers and finding live sea urchins washed in by the gulf stream by Coldingham beach.

I remember getting up at five am to catch a ferry across to Islay and the B&B woman had got up an hour before us to cook us porridge and poached haddock with eggs.

We spent weeks on Islay and Jura just swimming and walking. It's where I taught myself how to play guitar - one of those endless summers.

My own DC's first flight was to Scotland from London. They're teens now but were pre-schoolers then. I remember their eyes popping out of their heads at the size of the neon orange Irn Bru ice-creams at Nardinis in Largs, and them sliding down mud slides at a summer gala in a fishing village. And the play parks along that coast knock spots off any we had in London at the time.

Very happy days.

We're going back this summer too - taking the new sleeper to climb Ben Nevis after they've finished their exams.
I can't wait.

I'd love to visit Skye, the landscapes are stunning. I haven't got quite that far north, but have happy memories of Edinburgh around festival time, and family holidays as a child camping around Jedburgh - midgies aside, it is beautiful and lots to do around and about.

My holidays in Scotland have been some of the happiest ever. Growing up we had a family holiday travelling around the West of Scotland, including Loch Aline and Loch Lomond - it's literally the only holiday that we all enjoyed! I especially remember the five of us picnicking on a rock in the middle of an incredible tumbling stream, and my sister and I picking mussels for the evening meal in flowered corduroy flares I have also had wonderful times on Skye at the otter sanctuary and at Three Chimneys restaurant, and once performed at the Edinburgh Festival. I would love to take a boat up the Great Glen one day.

We've had 2 amazing family holidays in Scotland. The first we stayed in achiltibuie. The weather started off as expected. Colds s wet then throughout the week it got up to 28 degrees!! (In may). We discovered achmelvich beach which is paradise. My son who was 3 at the Rome got sunburn as, not surprisingly, we didn't take sun cream. It was a glorious day! We then returned a few years later and stayed just by achmelvich and explored further north. Handa island was peaceful and just lovely. Kylesku and oldmoreshore. We are still not done though. We will be back and we will get to the top!! I want to see loch elgol!

Getting married on skye soon. Can't wait!

Edinburgh festival is magIv
Loch Ness is stunning and peaceful.
Fife’s coast has some beautiful beaches , as does my favourite coastline in East Lothian.

I want to go to Orkney, fort William and loch lomond

Prior to having children, my husband and I would make one or two trips to Scotland every year, usually to do some winter mountaineering staying in either Fort William or Aviemore. We have been waiting for our son to get bigger and stronger so we can get back up there and take him climbing up some snow gullies in the Cairngorms. Still a little while to go but we can't wait!

We've got a long list of ancient sites we want to visit. So many that the idea is a to hire a campervan and head up to Scotland one year.

The list includes Skara Brae, Maes Howe and the ghost tour of the hidden streets in Edinburgh.

It's in the planning for when we can get some time off work (probably next year).

I've never been to Scotland but I would absolutely love to go! It looks so beautiful and oozes culture and charm.

It would be different what I want to do depending if I was going with my daughter and partner or if we were going child free :)