Scotland...but where??

[maggiebroon]

I'm looking for suggestions for a week in a nice village/small town with beautiful scenery, good baker, butcher etc, close to a beach or loch, with cycle hire nearby and stuff for dcs to do (ages 3&5). Would like to be able to take a day trip into Glasgow so thinking west coast but open to ideas!

Inverary is great. Have a look here for some things to do as day trips on the other side of the loch.

Loch Fyne/Inverary is lovely

Good spot, lots of places you can get to easily from there. Favourites spots for us are the ruined Kilchurn Castle near Dalmally, also Monument Hill (short walk up from Dalmally village centre, great view for very little effort), Bridge of Orchy, the beach (and coffee shop) at Luss, Inverary Castle, Oban, going a bit further afield the waterfalls at Killin, Dumbarton Castle.

Loch Fyne - yes, we stayed at a hotel near Inveraray. Lots to do - esp if you like walking and outdoors. Hire boat on loch. Inveraray prison. V pretty area!

Also agree with Fife - gorgeous! But St Andrews is more like 2 hours from Glasgow...

Or Dumfries and Galloway. Great beaches. We stayed in village by Luce Bay, but there are lovely beaches, forests, bike hire etc all along that coast.

Inverary is a nice wee town. Head from there down to tarbert (there are a couple in that area. This is south of inverary and loch gilphhead ) and have a drive around knapdale. The Killberry Inn is amazing - but not sure if suitable for kids.

St A is 1.5 hours from Glasgow. I used to do it every week.

Fantastic, thanks for the tips, I'm going to write all these down and get planning!

Another vote for Elie in Fife. When do you plan to go though? Remember Scottish term dates are a few weeks earlier than English in case that's a factor for you to consider. It's a 1 3/4 hour drive to Glasgow.

Arran. Fab beaches and beautiful.

East Neuk.

Isle of Arran. Feels remote but isn't. Mountains, beaches, spas, swimming pools, fine places to eat, good range of shops. 50min sail from adrossan. To visit Glasgow, as the islanders do regularly, the train meets the boat and in 40mins you are in city centre with no need to worry about traffic or parking. For shopping, parks and all manner of activities, Glasgow is the place to be. And the folk are nice too, for instance they don't spend their day sneering at Edinburgh.

On Arran there are loads of hotels and self catering places. Or the fabous Auchrannie hotel has just been voted best hotel for families in the uk on trip adviser.

N

Sorry, bloody iPhone. It's nowhere near Glasgow, but. stonehaven is lovely. Beach, baker, butcher, and dunnotar castle, which is spectacular

Thanks for those. Arran sounds interesting, not at all what I imagined. Will keep in mind for another time

Aviemore! Everything except the Glasgow bit. It is wonderful.

It has a loch with a beach!!

we camp here every year and it is only about 1 hr drive from Inverary, there are beautiful beaches to wander along the The Kilberry Inn is worth checking out too

Don't listen to the Glasgow naysayers - boo to you lot. Glasgow is definitely worth a visit but a fair old drive from Inverary. The drive is very lovely though.

Arran is wonderful. If you really felt you had to visit Glasgow, you should do it on a Friday as there is a late ferry giving you a longer day on the mainland. Things to do on Arran which would be great with children of all ages:

1. Climb Goatfell (if you are all reasonably fit and have the right kit). 874m (2,866ft). Tough, but well worth it on a day with good visibility.
2. Brodick Castle (National Trust for Scotland) - nice castle, lovely grounds, has a smallish adventure playground. Cafe isn't bad.
3. Glenashdale Falls in Whiting Bay. Just lovely and there are several excellent cafes in Whiting Bay for before and after your walk.
4. Lochranza has a ruined castle and a distillery. The scenery is more like the Highlands than the south end of the island.
5. Beaches - lots of contrasting types, all worth spending time on. I'd recomment Brodick, Lamlash, Whiting Bay, Corrie, Sannox, Kildonan, Blackwaterfoot.
6. Kildonan: another ruined castle, fabulous beach, very good hotel/bar/restaurant. Basalt pavements running into the sea.

(If you have any interest in geology at all, Arran is endlessly fascinating.)

1. Brodick: brilliant restaurant (Brodick Bar), lots of others which are also pretty good, sweet little crazy golf course, bookshop, fabulous ice creams from Arran Dairies shop beside Bilsland's (good for outdoor clothes and other emergency clothing purchases, including walking shoes/boots).
2. Isle of Arran heritage museum: particularly good to have up your sleeve for a wet day. Has a lovely cafe.
3. Cycling - there are lots of trails in the Forestry Commission lands and round Brodick Castle grounds.

10. Auchrannie has a leisure centre, including pool, and a playbarn. All the bars/restaurants there are excellent too.

I may have managed to get across the fact that I love Arran!

Can't beat Arran as I have already said!

Our house is in Whiting Bay so it's myget to co.pared to vourite vilHebridegreat pub with good food and 2 other bistros. The other villages generally have great places to eat too. As well as all the things mimsy mentioned, there are low level coastal or glen walks too countless to mention.
Horse riding,

kayaking and other adventure stuff courtesy of Arran Adventures

Auchrannie spa/pool/gym/playbarn for wet weather

Short boat trip to Holy island which sits a mile from lamlash, climb to the 1000ft summit and look out for the wild ponies and goats.

Hi speed RIB boat trip to land on the mind boggling volcanic stop, ailsa craig

Well equipped and cheap fitness gym in Arran high school

Seal watching, otter watching, red squirrels everywhere, deer day entering about the greens on the golf courses.

Trip round the dairy where Arrans own icecream is made from Arran milk.

7 golf courses if that's your thing.

Loads of plays/live music/ quizzes all over the place

Tennis courts

Arran rocks! Honestly you cant help falling in love with the place and so easy to get to compared to any of the Hebrides.

Sorry, on phone, mad typos.

Inverary - lovely little place in itself.

Also, within easy driving distance to Oban which has ferries to the islands and nice places en route like Tyndrum, Loch Awe etc.

You can easily drive to Glasgow if you want to spend a day there(or you could take the bus to Glasgow).

Loch Lomondside (en route to Glasgow) is only a stone's throw away with places like Luss, a lovely village, and Cameron House Hotel for a lovely lunch or afternoon tea.

Enjoy your holiday

Inveraray is a fair drive from Glasgow - at least an hour and a half - but well worth it - if you want to ditch the car the rail network to Glasgow is good

In rural Scotland an hour and a half of driving is nothing and, as said above, there are Scottish Citylink and train links if you want to opt for the train or bus. Don't think there is a train from Inverary but I could be wrong.
Driving gives you the option to meander into villages or pop into cafes, restaurants or wherever takes your fancy