Summer holiday kids activities thread

[H18 SFR]

I’m off the whole summer holidays so I’ve got the kids to entertain.

Looking for some suggestions for activities to do, happy to travel across the central belt and beyond for good suggestions.

Anyone got any ideas?

[Pretty Boy]

I've got a Historic Scotland membership. £7.66 a month for a family and that allows access to all site including Edinburgh and Stirling Castles, Linlithgow Palace and a whole host more. Well worth it, a couple of trips to the bigger hitters and it pays for itself.

Also got a zoo membership which includes access to the Highland Wildlife Park. Again good value with the Direct Debit option.

We have been to Conifox a few times and the kids enjoy that. The various free museums in Edinburgh are a great resource, Museum of Childhood has finally reopened post covid which is welcome. Depending on age of kids and how active they are jaunts up Arthur's Seat, Corstorphine Hill, Berwick Law, The Pentlands etc. with a picnic always go down well with mine and has the added bonus of tiring them out. Dalkeith Country Park, Newhailes House and Vogrie all have good play parks and are close to Edinburgh. Again depends what your kids are into but I've taken my daughter to a few sites around Edinburgh Airport to watch planes take off and land, double it up with an ice cream or something after and it goes down well. Edinburgh Dungeon is good but my 2 are a bit too young currently, again very age dependant.

[hibee_girl]

If you don’t mind going to Glasgow the transport museum there is a great (free!) day out, last time we were there we also went to visit the tall ship that’s beside the museum.

Glasgow science centre and camera obscure here are great days out but can be pricey.

[Paul1642]

What age(s) are they?

For my 4 year old I have the following places as rough ideas so far although I will be keen to see what else gets recommended here as it a a long time to keep them busy.

1. Dalkeith country park / go ape
2. Edinburgh Zoo
3. 5 sister zoo
4. Camera obscura
5. Dynamic earth
6. Dunbar swimming pool
7. Fox lake at Dunbar (older kids I’d imagine)
8. Good old soft play
9. Blair Drummond

[Smartie]

We took our 5 year old to the Almond Valley Heritage Centre a few weeks back.

She loved it and it was great in this scorching weather (definitely a hot, outdoors thing).

Plenty of trampolines, slides, swings etc throughout the place and I actually quite enjoyed the wee indoor museum bit at the start that was about West Lothian's mining heritage.

[gbhibby]

Gullane Beach is worth a visit. If they are not behaving you can make them run up the sand dunes. [emoji16]
North Berwick is also a good day out.

Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk

[Mibbes Aye]

Some good shouts above, particularly Historic Scotland membership (as said, it has pretty much paid for itself by the time you do a couple of the big attractions, but the smaller ones can be just as good - my kids loved Craigmillar Castle as well) and Camera Obscura - that exceeded my expectations.

Things that haven't been mentioned so far - the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune is a decent day out. We've not been to John Muir Country Park for a good few years but it has a big play area, nature walks and llamas and stuff you can feed.

If you're in Edinburgh then you are as close to the heart of the Borders as you are to Glasgow really. Your Historic scotland membership you are gong to get :greengrin will get you into the four abbeys. My kids loved tramping around them.,

Melrose Abbey has Robert the Bruce's heart in theory and a good ice cream shop just across the road. Kelso Abbey is small, and right in the middle of the town, it's a bit unusual, as well going to tick it off. Dryburgh Abbey is a lot bigger and you can also get down to the Tweed from there for dipping your feet in the water from the stony beach.

Jedburgh Abbey is the best though, it's massive and it is right beside Jedburgh Castle, which was a debtors' prison in the 18th and 19th century. They have all the orifginal cells to go in and close the door and really quite scary mannequins of the prisoners (my daughter loved/hated going when she was young because of that). It's built beside an old gallows site and features on the likes of Britain's Most Haunted all the time. And it is free!

Still in the Borders, but over to the Peebles side, you have Glentress and Go Ape with the zip wires. I think they offer something from four yeas and upwards.

And the final shout would be the Scottish Borders Donkey Sanctuary on the A68. It does exactlywhat it says on the tin, but I've never known anybody who has been and not loved it. Added bonus is you are just along the road from St Boswell's, which features the Mainstreet Trading Company. It s an independent bookshop, cafe and deli and is very good, especially for cakes and especially for children's books.

[hibee_girl]

Gullane Beach is worth a visit. If they are not behaving you can make them run up the sand dunes. [emoji16]
North Berwick is also a good day out.

Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk

Yellowcraigs is a great beach for a day out too.

There’s a great new park in Peebles.

We did the Inchcolm island boat trip one summer a few years ago now, my son loved it at the time.

Another favourite was the family swim sessions at Edinburgh leisure, just an hour of floats, water guns etc. Simple but kids love it.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

Five sisters zoo is brilliant, the Hampden tour is good too if the bairns are into football


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[H18 SFR]

Some great suggestions so far. Thanks to everyone so far.

[Hibrandenburg]

A week football camp, a week off followed by a week golf camp, then a week at grandma's and finally 3 weeks holiday with mum and dad before going back to school.

[Hiber-nation]

Yellowcraigs is a great beach for a day out too.



If you're thinking of a simple walk along the beach then go to North Berwick, park down from the Marine Hotel, walk across the golf course on to the beach (Broad Sands it used to be called) and head towards Yellowcraigs. Fantastic stretch with rock pools galore, great views of the islands and mostly deserted.

[JeMeSouviens]

If you're thinking of a simple walk along the beach then go to North Berwick, park down from the Marine Hotel, walk across the golf course on to the beach (Broad Sands it used to be called) and head towards Yellowcraigs. Fantastic stretch with rock pools galore, great views of the islands and mostly deserted.

Seacliff beach is great too and Tantallon castle well worth a visit (although might be currently closed?)

[Fuzzywuzzy]

Transport museum in Glasgow is good and free!
Simple walk across the forth bridge
Jump station just opened at Western hailes

[Hibby Bairn]

Get some chalk and draw a tennis court on the road outside your house. Kids can then play pretend Wimbledon for days on end. Borg v McEnroe.

Get them a football and they can play all day till dark.

OK. These days have gone.

[superfurryhibby]

Earth Calling offer summer day activities to kids between 8-15. Big focus on nature, wildlife and kids getting stuck in and getting their hands dirty.

https://earthcalling.org/for-kids/holiday-clubs/

They are owned by a very good friend (who happens to be a passionate Hibby).