S/O Scotland with Kids

[ny96]

We’re starting to plan a summer trip and thinking about having H’s dad join us. He had mentioned previously that he’d want to go to Scotland. I think it’s a great idea, but H doesn’t think it would be a great vacation spot for kids. They’ll be 10 and newly 6 (or just about to be 6).

[mrsukyankee]

Scotland is fabulous and I can imagine kids loving it - there are castles and hikes and all sorts of cool stuff to do. I don't have kids but I can't imagine thinking it wouldn't be a good place to visit with them.

[Deleted]

We took our kids to London and Edinburgh when they were 4, 6, and 9. My kids loved Edinburgh. They especially enjoyed a super cheesy ghost tour and a day trip that we did to Alnwick castle. But they also enjoyed walking along the Royal mile seeing the performers, checking out Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh castle and the touristy optical illusion place nearby.

I thought it was a great vacation with kids. It was our first international trip with them and it was a great first international trip to get our feet wet. Since then we’ve taken them to Croatia, Belize, Portugal, Costa Rica and will go to Thailand this summer.

[gardengal]

I'm taking my kids to Scotland this summer. I think it's an excellent location for kids! Of course it's also an excellent location for adult trips if you want to focus on serious hiking & whiskey tasting.

We're doing a mix of Harry Potter things (walking tour Edinburgh, train ride over viaduct like in the movie), castles/cultural sites (Edinburgh Castle, Stirling, etc) & outdoor adventure (hiking, mountain biking). My kids like hiking, especially if we go somewhere for a treat at the end!

I think the UK generally is a good first trip option because the flight length is tolerable (at least from the East Coast), it's easy to get around, and fluent English by everyone just is one less thing for you to keep track of/worry about with your first big trip (I'm an anxious traveller & definitely did not want to be translating while keep track of my kids for our first BIG adventure). Plus, if you have picky eaters the food is familiar.

I will say that there can be more of an anti-kid sentiment IME in some venues. Like, some places don't want kids in pubs, even for meals, but that's not written anywhere except in guide books that kids aren't always accepted. Meanwhile we bring our kids to breweries & brew pubs on the regular in the US. And I got a few weird looks bringing my kids well-dressed & well behaved to a fancy afternoon tea whereas I haven't when I've done that where I live (the Ritz even has a kid's option at home). BUT! It's just something to be aware of as obvious the Brits/Scots have kids & entertain them.

If your H is thinking about a future extreme outdoor or whiskey trip, you could focus on the lowlands/Edinburgh/Northern England for this trip & do the more extreme, rugged highlands for a grown up trip without the kids or when they are older. There's Hadrian's Wall & aforementioned Alnwick Castle (setting of first few HP movies), Holy Island which looks SO COOL, etc. in N England

[ny96]

Jan 18, 2023 13:33:16 GMT -5 gardengal said:

I'm taking my kids to Scotland this summer. I think it's an excellent location for kids! Of course it's also an excellent location for adult trips if you want to focus on serious hiking & whiskey tasting.

We're doing a mix of Harry Potter things (walking tour Edinburgh, train ride over viaduct like in the movie), castles/cultural sites (Edinburgh Castle, Stirling, etc) & outdoor adventure (hiking, mountain biking). My kids like hiking, especially if we go somewhere for a treat at the end!

I think the UK generally is a good first trip option because the flight length is tolerable (at least from the East Coast), it's easy to get around, and fluent English by everyone just is one less thing for you to keep track of/worry about with your first big trip (I'm an anxious traveller & definitely did not want to be translating while keep track of my kids for our first BIG adventure). Plus, if you have picky eaters the food is familiar.

I will say that there can be more of an anti-kid sentiment IME in some venues. Like, some places don't want kids in pubs, even for meals, but that's not written anywhere except in guide books that kids aren't always accepted. Meanwhile we bring our kids to breweries & brew pubs on the regular in the US. And I got a few weird looks bringing my kids well-dressed & well behaved to a fancy afternoon tea whereas I haven't when I've done that where I live (the Ritz even has a kid's option at home). BUT! It's just something to be aware of as obvious the Brits/Scots have kids & entertain them.

If your H is thinking about a future extreme outdoor or whiskey trip, you could focus on the lowlands/Edinburgh/Northern England for this trip & do the more extreme, rugged highlands for a grown up trip without the kids or when they are older. There's Hadrian's Wall & aforementioned Alnwick Castle (setting of first few HP movies), Holy Island which looks SO COOL, etc. in N England

Thanks for sharing. We’ve taken the older one to London before and both of them generally do great on overseas trips. I really think they’d love the castles and Highlands and Harry Potter train, and we’d love the whiskey.

[erbear]

We went to Scotland (Edinburgh and the Highlands) with our kids at 6 and 8. They enjoyed it, as long as we didn’t try to cram too much in. They liked hiking in both places and being at the lakes the best.

[mrsukyankee]

gardengal, I've never seen a pub not letting in kids in the UK. Bars, yes, but not true pubs. Interesting.

[gardengal]

Jan 19, 2023 6:01:25 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

gardengal , I've never seen a pub not letting in kids in the UK. Bars, yes, but not true pubs. Interesting.

We’ve I’ve gone w my H on adult trips (London, Cotswolds, Cornwall, Bath, Devon) we’ve seen several kids/families turned away. We’ve personally not attempted with our kids especially bc our visits with them were when they were younger.

Occasionally the families were wanting all to eat/drink (we were eating at least snacks w our beers. We’ve never been just to drink) but a few times drinks were all that was wanted by them. The first time was our Cotswolds visit (our first time in England) & the dad was IRATE & the kid was so embarrassed that I’ve definitely paid attention basically ever pub experience since. In that instance, we were having lunch so not evening & the place was pretty empty bc I remember the dad being upset that his kid wouldn’t be bothering anyone. I have seen families in pubs other times though. I assume there’s unposted rules or customs in various areas I don’t know.

I’ve specifically looked into this for Scotland bc of this & there’s a special license you need for kids to be allowed. But no one posts whether or not they have it &, if they do, everyone at the table must order a “full meal”…which gets dicey when you’re talking about toddlers & has lead to irate reviews on TripAdvisor & lots of discussion on various Scotland Travel forums I’ve seen.

[pittpurple]

I live in Edinburgh, Scotland and my kids are 6 and 10 so just tag me if I can help anywhere specifically!

Am biased of course but I think this is a wonderful place for children. We are American so live here by choice and it's just been a wonderful place to raise our kids. My kids think castles are normal and beaches should be empty and they have so much freedom to just run around in the woods.

In the summer lots of the popular castles and attractions will have special things for kids but if you can come when it's not the school holidays here places will be quieter - so I'd recommend that. Scottish schools have a shorter break than most American schools - close at the start of July and kids are back mid August. The festival is on in Edinburgh in August so worth either avoiding or choosing to join in the chaos (I love the chaos!).

I don't check in here all the time so just tag me if you want any more info!

[dutchgirl678]

We went to Scotland in April 2017 when our kids were 6 and 9. We were with a group of 8 as my parents, MIL, and SIL joined us. We had a great time. We flew into Glasgow and drove to our cabin near Ft Augustus and made day trips from there. We went to Urquhart Castle, Eilean Donan castle, Isle of Skye, Inverness, Aviemore (and the Highland Folk Museum), Ft William (and the Glenfinnan viaduct view point / Loch Shiel which were both featured in the Harry Potter movies). We ate a lot of fish and chips in pubs (the best!). We didn't have any issues with eating out and bringing our kids but we went mostly to restaurants and pubs in small towns, nothing fancy. I remember one restaurant in Drumnadrochit served ice cream for them in a Loch Ness ice cream scoop.

[ny96]

Jan 19, 2023 9:39:21 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

I live in Edinburgh, Scotland and my kids are 6 and 10 so just tag me if I can help anywhere specifically!

Am biased of course but I think this is a wonderful place for children. We are American so live here by choice and it's just been a wonderful place to raise our kids. My kids think castles are normal and beaches should be empty and they have so much freedom to just run around in the woods.

In the summer lots of the popular castles and attractions will have special things for kids but if you can come when it's not the school holidays here places will be quieter - so I'd recommend that. Scottish schools have a shorter break than most American schools - close at the start of July and kids are back mid August. The festival is on in Edinburgh in August so worth either avoiding or choosing to join in the chaos (I love the chaos!).

I don't check in here all the time so just tag me if you want any more info!

Thank you, if we move forward with a plan I’ll do that.

[mrsukyankee]

Definitely agree with pittpurple to NOT go in August. Even for someone who went for the event happening, it was a nightmare full of drinking idiots and super expensive for rentals.

[pittpurple]

mrsukyankee, it's a pretty wonderful place to be as a resident who loves crazy dance shows but I imagine it's not the best time for a visitor!