Scotland from 27-30 May, where to stay, what to do, cheap?!

potnoodle_2

Hi, we are flying into edinburgh wednesday evening and I am not having much luck with sorting out an itinary! we are 2 adults 2 12yr old kids, i was planning on spending thursday and friday out of edinburgh, then all day sat in edinburgh then flying back sat evening. So, question is, where do we go/stay wed - friday night? we are possibly going to hire a car - want to do it cheap as poss but only travelling with cabin luggage so rules out camping.
is there anywhere around 1- 2 hours drive out of edinburgh thats worth a visit and nice to stay at?

thanks for any advise

potnoodle

captainbeaker

Depends what your interested in, there is a lot to see and do in Edinburgh, so 1 day would be leaving thibngs a bit tight.
If you fancied the camping option could look for some deals for cheap tents in supermarkets/argos buy one for your time and dump it/give it away when your done or post it home, which ever option would be cheaper than hotels.

Edinburgh has the castle dungeons, dynamic earth amongst things your kids would love, glasgows only an hour or so away and train/bus links are good, and probably cheaper hotels than edinburgh.

Much depends on what your planning from your trip as where the best places to go, perths maybe an hour or so north of edinburgh and you could base yourself there for a day or two exploring the southern highlands.

have a good trip, my advice would be plan what you want to see/do first then sort your accomodation out.

nesssie1702

One to two hours driving out of Edinburgh can take you quite far in Scotland. You can go south to the Borders or North to Stirling, St Andrews in Fife or Perthshire and the Highlands as captainbeaker suggests.

Have you been before? What kind of things do you and the children like doing? Do you prefer towns and cities or are you happy wandering in a rural location to do some walking etc?

Historic Scotland do Explorer Passes that will give you entry into their properties. A 3 day family pass costs £42 - but if you think that getting into Edinburgh Castle alone costs £13 for each adult and £6 per child, you'd only need to visit a couple of properties to save money.

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/explorer.htm

If you're okay about travelling about, you'd probably get family rooms at a Travelinn, Innkeepers Lodge, PremierInn or HolidayInn Express pretty easily and inexpensively too.

Hope you get your itinerary sorted out and have a good break.

alison74

A list of free things to do in Edinburgh can be found at http://edinburghlove.wordpress.com/free/

You could also stay in the one spot and just travel to where you want to go.

Blair Drummond Safari park (just outside Stirling, 1 hour by car) is a great day out, the animals are fantastic, but I would suggest going early as it opens as that's when they feed the lions and there's a whole lot of roaring going on.

potnoodle_2

Thanks for replies guys. Guess what I found on ebay yesterday? Only an advert for a holiday cottage let fom 27th - 30th May in Dunfermline! I was the only one bidding so got asking price of £135, it is ideal, 2 beds kitchen living room and garden, never done a holiday home let before so really looking forward to - found out loads of interesting stuff about the area, speciallly Andrew Carnegie, what a fascinating guy! We are going to Dublin first, never been to Ireland or Scotland, so killing two birds with one stone with good old Ryanair pound flights Whole trip from Bournemouth to Dublin then straight on to Edinburgh and back to Bournemouth a price busting £12! Anyway, thanks again for all your great info :j

ailuro2

Dunfermline Abbey and Palace...the palace is ruins, the Abbey impressive but not that exciting unless you're into Robert the Bruce. It might not be your 12 yo's cup of tea.

Plenty of shops in Dunfermline, the usual High Street you can find anywhere, really, there's a big retail park with Bowling,cinema and a Frankie & Benny's just off the motorway, also Deep Sea World is in North Queensferry, the one with the overhead tunnels so you can walk under sharks.

We live in Dundee - about an hour's easy drive up the motorway - Discovery, (Captain Scott's ship voyage to the Antarctic) is moored here, along with a visitor centre, we also have Sensation Science centre,Avertical World (climbing wall) an ice rink, more bowling with Zapp zone. Many of these can be entered cheaply with Tesco Clubcard Deals, so order them now if you fancy the trip.

Along to the east merged on the end of Dundee is Broughty Ferry, a nice little town !!! village with nice shops, a beach, loads of nice pubs for Dad and nice little shops you don't get in the High Street(ubiquitous charity shops too!) .Great chippie for the kids, go in for a sit-down tea, fish supper with bread, butter and a cup of tea.:D Free entry Broughty Ferry castle - you can look out over to Fife most days.Crazy Golf in Castle Green playpark.

Stirling Castle is well within your reach too, my favourite castle in Scotland - big and loads to see and do - OK it's not got the crown jewels like Edinburgh has, but I really likes it - looks over the valley to Wallace Monument - take a trip over and climb up it to see where the Scots had one of their greatest victories ever over the Auld Enemy.:p Wallace's broadsword will impress the 12y.o.s , it impressed me! it's massive! He really was a giant among men!!

The Edinburgh Dungeons are on Tesco Clubcard vouchers too, iirc,
In Edinburgh (get the bus in from the park and ride on the North side of the bridge instead of taking the car) there is loads to do, you could spend your whole trip there. Get your maps printed out before you go, it's very walkable once you're in the centre, take a picnic and eat it in Princes Street gardens.

Enjoy your stay!!:beer:

potnoodle_2

thanks for the info,12 yr old thinks everything is boring

nesssie1702

If you're staying in Fife - the Fife Coastal trail is worth a drive and St Andrews is nice for a wander about.

If the 12 year old is looking for some adventure, there's the International Climbing arena on the outskirts of Edinburgh at Ratho, which is not too far from Dunfermline either. As well as the climbing walls, there's the aerial assault course.....

http://www.eica-ratho.com/content/aerial-assault/1155/

bubblegumcola

Craigtoun park near St Andrews is really nice, take a picnic if its nice and a football. You pay for a family ticket, about £14 and you can stay there all day. It has a play area, boating pond,crazy golf and lots of room to run about.You don't pay any more to do the crazy golf or the boats, we just had to queue for the boating. My 11 year old was quite happy when we went but I know they can be tricky at that age, my DD was having a good day!

There is a nice long walk round Loch Leven at Kinross, not far from Dunfermline and a big park, thats free. Also Vane Farm (RSPB) is nearby so if your kids are keen on nature they might enjoy it, not sure of the prices there.

potnoodle_2

Thanks nessie & bubblegum so much to do, so little time!