Can anyone advise me on stopping places between Bristol and the Highlands?

[tortoiseSHELL]

We're driving up to the Highlands in Scotland on Saturday (in the snow!), from Bristol, which is going to be slightly nightmarish to say the least with 3 children aged 6,4,nearly 2. Can anyone recommend any NICE places to stop en route? We don't really want to go off the beat and track but if anyone knows any nice service stations with play areas that would be good. That sort of thing.

I think we're going M5-M6 up to Glasgow, then over to the M8, then A9 (assuming the snow gates aren't shut - joy!).

Thanks!

Southwaite, near Carlilse is a good stopping place. It is a full-service area, with playground and Travelodge.

We've done this many time. I recommend the services north of the border on the M6 (north of Gretna) as they tend to have more open space. There's a lovely service station at Tebay in Westmorland but the nice side is only accessible going south. Worth using on your way home. It's run by local people.

Take the M6 toll road if you can to avoid the worst of the traffic. There's a new-ish service station or two on it.

We drove up and down in snow following the Easter Weekend and the barriers weren't closed on the A9 summit on either occasion. A good place to stop on the A9 is Bruar Falls in Perthshire. There is a riverside walk with stepping stones (watch your little ones) and a nice restaurant and deli. Lots of cashmere, too. Lovely loos. (I sound like my granny...)

Thanks, my mum told me about the Tebay services, will definitely stop there on the way back.

We're aiming to leave REALLY early so hopefully might beat the worst of the traffic (I'd like to leave at 4 am, and as it is a Saturday it will only be holiday traffic, not rush hour traffic, so we could be over the border by 10/11 o clock.

I think I've been to that A9 stop - will keep my eyes open.

ST - I'll look out for that one as well, thanks.

Any more suggestions of really good places to stop?

I think when we went to Scotland last year, we left about 4.30am (Windsor area), and stopped for petrol at Warwick services at 6am. We arrived at Southwaite around 9.30am. We just did toilet stops and sandwiches in the car, and arrived in Edinburgh at about 11.30am - quite a record for us.

I was going to recommend Bruar falls, though it is like most road side places over priced imho, but it is much nicer than most, it has a play area as well, quite far from the shop bit (so you can leave dh with the kids and go shopping go to the loo.

where in the highlands are you going?

It's our annual ski-ing trip to Aviemore. We always get strange looks when we put the skis on the car in Bristol in April though...

ah so you might know Bruar then?

have you been watching the webcam at Aviemore on the met office website?

it has been so lovely and mild up here the last couple of days though the Aviemore gets more snow than we do on the Moray coast and there def has been lots of snow on the hills.

I see snow is forecast, with the temp being 1 degree during the day at the weekend, perfect eh

If you want a longer break why not stop at the designer village at Gretna. There are lots of shops and the kids could have a run about outside as you don't have to bother about cars. Also there are cafes including a Thornton's with yummy cakes and ice cream. Aviemore is lovely, my daughter lived there for 2 years and we visited often. have a good time.

There is an Ikea in north birmingham, less than half a mile off the M6 - cheap to eat, let them go in soft play etc, also I know where the petrol filling station is around the corner!

My husband tries to plan journeys so the shop at Bruar Falls is closed. But I'm wise to his deviousness.

I've never been to the Gretna designer village in all the years we've passed it. Now I'm going to insist on a stop as a result of scottishgran's recommendation.

Bridie - I think if your dh doesn't like Bruar and the shops there he will loathe Gretna, because there is no escape, at least at Bruar you can be there and not actually go near the shops if you have a picnic... which is usually what we do, because my dh has an allergic reaction to shops.

Is Southwaite the service station just north of Carlisle? The first one in England? Truly the worst possible advert for England you can imagine - best avoided. Killington Lake is nice a bit further south on the M6 - I can't remember which side that is, but I've a feeling it's on the northbound side.

In Scotland, a good stopping place on the A9 that's not quite so pricey as House of Bruar is what used to be the Macbeth Experience at Bankfoot near Perth. I think it's just called the Perthshire Visitor Centre now.

Getting closer to Aviemore in case you're needing another toilet stop by then, there's Ralia near Newtonmore.

Have a lovely time. There was lots of snow round here over Easter.

Wow - you're driving it! We're flying Bristol to Inverness to get to Aviemore THIS Saturday. Maybe next year we'll drive...

Thanks for the tips - the drive wasn't at all bad in the end - we set off at 5am to get there, stopped just onto the M74 at a Little Chef, feeling very chuffed that we'd done 250 miles before 11! On the way back we stopped at the M6 services south of Tebay (near the turn off for Kendal - the Killington Lake ones). The kids were angels in the car - 11 hours with hardly a grumble!

However I think we tested the toilets at most of the service stations!

TS I live 15 minutes from Tebay, Icould have invited you around for a brew if I'd known!

Oh, maybe next time - we go every year!