Scotland or Wales?

[Fermin]

DH and I have booked off 10 days in early June to take our 1 year old and 3 year old away. I've always wanted to visit the Highlands so initial thoughts are we'll fly into either Glasgow or Edinburgh, hire a car and do a road trip via lochs/islands stopping to stay in 3 or 4 different places over 7-10 days (either self catering or B&B's) then flying back home out of Inverness. Not interested to stay in the cities. I've no idea where to begin on an itinerary though....

The other thought is we could drive all the way to Wales (from Surrey) with an overnight stop off on the way but settling somewhere like the Pembrokeshire coast for a longer stay rather than doing a road trip.

Both ideas appeal but I've no idea how to make a decision. Has anyone done anything like the above with kids of a similar age? Any advice/recommendations?

I don't know if your DCs would enjoy Scotland. It's beautiful but the lochs and islands don't really have a lot for kids of that age and the children might find it unsettling to be staying in different places. If you do decide to go, I'd fly to and from Inverness, and maybe look at a base there for a week or so. There are lots of things to do around there - Loch Ness, Aviemore, Landmark forest adventure park, dolphin boat trips etc. Inverness has a leisure pool with waves and slides etc and an ice rink in case of bad weather. We had five days in the Black Isle, just north of Inverness, at the Station Hotel in Avoch (pronounced Ock) which was lovely. Or go self catering. You could maybe go over to Fort William for your last three days too.
If you decide on Pembrokeshire, Broad Haven is lovely with a beautiful beach. Also Little Haven. The children would like Folly Farm and The Blue Lagoon watermark. Have a look at stayinthehavens website for a good selection of rentals.

Meant to say, my girls are 11 and 14 and we stayed at The Station in August. Also that should say Blue Lagoon water park!

We visit Pembrokeshire a lot with young children. There is a lot to do for families, Folly farm is a fav. We stay at Bluestone and make the most of the free activities.

Pembrokeshire is more likely to be warm and there are plenty of beaches.
We go to the St David's area with 2yo DS (staying on Whitesands for 2 weeks this September) but there's more typical family stuff around Tenby. It depends how outdoorsy you are.
Folly Farm is more of a poorly designed zoo than a farm these days. Try Manor Park which is an actual well-run zoo.

Sorry for only just coming back to the thread. Some fab suggestions. Looks like the consensus is Wales over Scotland so will do a bit more planning. Thank you

I really recommend Wales. There's beautiful Tenby, Folly Farm for kids ( its a zoo with fairground rides), several castles, unspoilt beaches, loads of history, the Pembrokeshire coastal path, Dylan Thomas's Laugharne, and wonderful Pembrey Country Park down the coast in Camarthenshire. Pembrey has a ski slop, pine forests, an amazing beach, archery, a tobaggan run, an adventure playground etc and its so beautiful and spread out. That's just West Wales. I could go on and on!