Scottish MNers this way please! Holiday help needed...

[MissSusanStoHelit]

DFiance and I have finally managed to convince his XW to let us take the kids on a plane for a holiday. We both would love to go to Scotland so thought this would be perfect - not too long a flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh, so the children should be OK! We've been looking at self-catering cottages and I have 2 questions for you lovely Scottish MNers. (and those with loads of Scottish experience, of course!)

1. If we're there for 7 days, with a hire car, where would be a good place to base ourselves? We've seen a lovely place (with a hot tub!) near the Trossachs park, which seems pretty central, would that be a good bet? If not, where's better? We would like to see Edinburgh, Roslin, Stirling Castle, go for a cruise on a Loch, eat some seafood, drink some whisky, and generally mooch around exploring beautiful countryside every day. Suggestions are most welcome!

1. Midges - how bad are they really? We'd be going at the end of July / August...

If there's anywhere else we absolutely HAVE to go, please let me know... my spreadsheet is ready for input!

Thank you...

You lot are AMAZING!! Such fab ideas! We are going to try do ALL of them - wishful thinking, but they all sound so wonderful! Thanks also for the great travel tips - we will definitely take the train in to Edinburgh. DCs are 15, 9 and 7 so perfect ages for all of the above. After a full days sightseeing I think the hot tub will come in VERY useful!

St Andrews is about 40 minutes drive along the coastal route and is nice for a wander around. There's a ruined castle and cathedral to explore. Several museums. An aquarium with penguins and meerkats . Janetta's gelateria. Two beaches and a swimming pool. (Though the pool at Leven is better).

Nearby is Kellie Castle and a Secret Bunker.

Anstruther has an award winning fish and chip shop and a fisherman's museum.

Check out the Historic Scotland website for other castles in the area.

When I saw your post I was going to suggest Fife, loads to do & handy for Edinburgh,Stirling Perth & Dundee & Glasgow is doable for a day trip. Can I suggest the Avocado Sweet website for arty, foodie things in the Fife area. The National Trust for Scotland has a number of properties in Fife including Falkland Palace. If you go to Stirling Castle combine it with a trip to Falkirk for the Kelpies. St Andrews is a must loads of history , the beautiful West Sands & great cafes & restaurants, with Dcs in toe a visit to Janettas ice cream parlour is a must. The east Neuk is wonderful, one of my favourite places wonderful walks & villages. I hope you all have a brilliant time & finally it freaked me out but my DSs all loved the secret bunker.

Don't forget to have a look at the 'old course' too when in St Andrews, they have or did have a miniature of the real course with the little bridge over the burn and everything that you can all play a round on. The university is one of the oldest in the U.K. and where William and Kate meet!

Another vote for St Andrews I am slightly obsessed

St Andrews is a must. Depending when you're there you might catch the Lammas market and fair. The East Neuk is lovely too Fife is very under rated it's beautiful

Tentsmuir beach just north of St Andrews is worth a visit.

You can ride the Hogwarts Express (not the real name but it is the steam train form the film) from Fort William - that'd be a couple of hours drive from Kirkcaldy, maybe more.

Another vote for Craigtoun park - your older child might find that a bore though.

Afternoon tea at Gleneagles.

Seconding the East Neuk and Dundee suggestions. If you go to Dundee make sure you go to The Discovery, the Science Museum and Broughty Ferry Castle! Glamis Castle is imo the best castle in Scotland by far so make sure you go there! Cairnie Farm is great too. Dunkeld and Birnam are lovely, great for a walk along the River Tay.

You're perfectly placed to do the Elie chain walk jamescarron.wordpress.com/features/elie-chainwalk-step-by-step-guide/

Time it for the tide going out (how far out depends on how agile you all are! And you can just wait for it to go out further if it proves too much). Great fun and free, head to Anstruther after for some well earned award winning fish n chips.

Good morning everyone

This is such a fantastic thread, there's so much useful information here!

At the request of the OP we're going to move it out of Chat so it doesn't disappear - it will be posted on the UK topic shortly. We'll also be pinning it to our Mumsnet Local Scotland Talk boards.

Hope you all have wonderful weekends