Scotland for two weeks next summer - itinerary ideas please

[GolfForBrains]

We are thinking about having our family holiday in Scotland next year (we live in London). Children (will be 13 and 15) have never been, we parents have only been to Edinburgh. I am at a bit of a loss as to where to go as I don't really know what's a must see or how to put a route together - we are also considering going by train and then either hiring a car or doing more by train - how doable would you say the latter is please?

And also inspired by another thread I have just read on here - is August in Edinburgh to be avoided? We were thinking of a few days there either at the beginning or the end.

Thanks for any help!

Do you prefer outdoorsy stuff or city breaks? A combo also doable. Edinburgh is very busy in Festival season, but if you like theatre, worth braving.

I'd say the car / train debate has its pros and cons both ways.
It's a long old drive to even reach Scotland and even further one you start heading to highlands & islands. Parking in Edinburgh is a nightmare so if you stay there it limits your accommodation options, although there are plenty of hotels / AirBnBs a few miles from the city centre on good bus routes with parking, or you can park for free at most of the park & rides on the outskirts of the city. Bringing your own car also means you've got more flexibility about packing which can be handy for the scottish climate.
I would definitely bring the kids to Edinburgh for 2-3 days then head north. Aviemore is great for families and you could easily spend a week there if you're into outdoor activities.
There are no "must sees", it's really what your family would like to see and do. I would do fewer bases and more time in each place rather than trying to cover the entire country in a week as roads are slow once you get out of the central belt and few kids that age particularly rave about scenery!!

Be aware that if you rent a cottage, it may not have wifi ...
Mull and Ardnamurchan are great if you want wildlife. Once you get to single track roads, don't expect to average more than 30mph.

I think best get us to train/fly in and then hire a car once in Scotland wherever you’re arriving to. But cost dependent as obviously much cheaper to just drive up all the way it you already own a car (we don’t own one so flew to Glasgow then hired car). Edinburgh would be amazing, especially to experience fringe festival! I also recommend Glasgow and then drive to Loch Lomond, Lochgilphead etc so beautiful and lots of great walks and history there.

Only avoid Edinburgh in August (and July to some extent) if you don't enjoy crowds or busy places. The festival and fringe in normal years are phenomenal and a lot of the enjoyment comes from the choice of things to do, people watching, the street atmosphere etc. The biggest issue you will find then will be accommodation and probably queues to do the main tourist things.

Schools are back in general by this time of August so a lot of the more holiday/tourist places will be a wee bit quieter.

If you go by train then you will be able to get the train to the cities - Edinburgh to Glasgow is just under an hour, Stirling about 45 minutes from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Aberdeen is around 2 h 30 from Edinburgh and Glasgow too. Inverness is 3h15 from Glasgow, 3h45 from Edinburgh.

It really depends on what you want to or like to do!

If you go to Glasgow then go to the Kelvingrove Museum, and on the subway aka the clockwork orange.

Thank you all. I think we would be looking for a mix of outdoors and city activities. Good point re Scottish schools going back earlier, I hadn't thought of that!

Schools have gone back this week, a few went end of last week and the independents probably until next week, but as a general rule the last 2 weeks of English school holidays is probably quietest.
You could do a few days in edinburgh, week in the highlands (I'd definitely consider aviemore) and a few days in Glasgow on the way back south.

If any of you are walking buffets for midges I would avoid the West coast. They are a nightmare at that time of year.

Stirling would be a good base for day trips by train to both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It has its own charms (estwhile capital of Scotland) plus access to The Ochils and Trossachs.

Thank you!

Head for Argyll to start, the Kintyre peninsula with the mull of course, check out the great beach at Machrihanish before heading for Oban and take the CalMac ferry to Mull.
If you have time head to the far north for amazing scenery in Sutherland before going to the glow country of Caithness.

Personally I prefer Stirling Castle to Edinburgh Castle. The views from both are stunning but my kids love talking with all the costumed characters wandering about Stirling Castle and telling you snippets of the history there. There’s a lot of interactive learning and a dressing up room too. (There was pre-covid anyway).

We have just come back from Scotland. We flew to Glasgow and caught the West Highland Line to Oban. It's a 3.5 hour journey but so beautiful. You will be glued to the window watching the amazing scenery. Oban itself is pretty but small so ideally I would book a boat trip in advance to the Inner Hebrides (Mull, Iona etc) either for a day trip or a few days.

Glasgow is amazing for bars, restaurants and shopping but not especially touristy. Edinburgh is wonderful but I would avoid August unless you specifically want to see some of the Festival and don't mine crowds.

We did a trip, flew to Glasgow & spent a few days there, then train to Fort William, few days there getting about by bus, then the steam train to Mallaig, few days there, did a day trip to Skye by ferry, then returned the same way but by standard train from Mallaig to Fort William.

Also agree that Stirling Castle is much more interesting than Edinburgh Castle and easily accessible by train from Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Also HMS Discovery at Dundee is fascinating, and there is also a branch of the V&A there. Easily reached by train from Edinburgh.

Something a bit different.

Common ridings have been off with covid but should return next year. Coldstream in borders is last. Flodden ride is always impressive to watch and is usually the first full week Thursday in August. Might be worth keeping an eye to incorporate a few days in borders at start. Lots of other good stuff, glentress biking and go ape. Beaches, good walking, outdoors stuff.

If you have two weeks you really do have a great opportunity to see lots of places - you could even head to the very far north and hop on the catamaran to Orkney for a day or two - amazing history and sights there.

Hire a camper or a car with lots of pre-booked air bnb stops and drive right round the coast, you could see so many places (but you will cover a lot of slow miles).

Edinburgh during the Festival is great fun - busy but worth it.

Last time we went we flew to Inverness and hired a car - we were staying at Fort William. Which was great for mountain climbing, amazing walks, boat trips etc. Previous trips we’ve done boat trips to the various islands and whisky tours.

I love Scotland. We wanted to go this year, but weren’t really organised enough. Next year we are aiming for the Cairngorms, we all like our wildlife and it just looks so beautiful there.

Have you considered Galloway, a doable drive from London or train to Carlisle and hire a car.. I’ve driven many times.
It’s the coastal SW, similar to Cornwall without the crowds. Several outdoor centres, sailing, horse riding etc. Steeped in history with castles, museums and beautiful isolated beaches.

If you are up there august ish the tattoo is great if that's on next year. Needs to be booked quite a few months in advance though.

If you plan to visit Skye etc then you need to drive up the Bealach Na Ba to Applecross. It's the highest road in Scotland with hairpins. Applecross is a stunning wee place. Its on the NC500 route. Enjoy

Stirling Castle is how you imagine a castle to be if that makes sense?

We’ve just returned from the Callander region with our 6 year old. We enjoyed canoeing from Killin on Loch Tay (islands with lovely beaches with a beaver colony)
Visited and got to feed red deer. Watched red squirrels from a hide at aberfoyle visitors centre. Visited the Burks of Aberfeldy (stunning waterfalls made famous by Rabbie Burns)
Climbed Ben Arn.
Had a day cycling.
Stirling Castle is a good visit. We loved the Battle of Bannochburn Experience and the Wallace Memorial is supposed to be good(all need prebooking)
Falkirk isn’t too far either The Kelpies are a good visit with children as there is a lovely park there and they offer a tour inside them.
We tried visiting Loch Lommand but turned back as it was far to busy for us🙁
If this is for you then you could probably get the train to Stirling and hire a car there.
We went on to Oben aswell but found far more to do as a family around the Trossachs region. 🙂

Sorry, just read you had teenagers, the Aberfoyle Centre has an amazing zip wire at GoApe 🙂