A Week in Scotland

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For half term I took the kids up to Scotland for a week. Sadly, Dave had to work and look after the cats so it was just me, LP and Little Man for this adventure. It was mainly to see my grandparents and my dad who had broken his leg a few weeks before but, we decided to make a real holiday of it and go on a few day trips too.

We drove up early on Saturday morning – and it was a long drive, although the roads were good to us. We left home at 7:30am, had two brief stop offs at services and another to get petrol, and arrived with my Dad at 4pm. We basically stopped to say hello as we were driving through and then left to go in search of our holiday cottage and a supermarket!

Glasgow Science Centre

The weather in Scotland is pretty iffy at this time of year so I had planned a lot of indoor days out – with a few outdoor adventures if the sun came out. Our first full day in Scotland was constant heavy rain so we headed for Glasgow Science Centre – and it was a fantastic day out!

We started with the planetarium, seeing a show about the night sky in spring, before working our way around the exhibits. There were so many interactive things to do, explore and play with and I was impressed how engaged LP and Little Man were – at 12 and 14. It was a fantastic way to kick off our trip – and we managed to squeeze in another trip to see my Dad on the way back to the cottage.

The Barony A Frame

The next day was actually sunny and so we made a plan to get outside! Our first stop was to the Barony A Frame, the last of it’s kind left in the UK and a real relic from the mining industry. Free to visit, and popular with dog walkers, there were lots of signs to read as well as a memorial and also a play park if you visit with younger ones.

Dumfries House

Our next stop was the Dumfries House Estate which is free to visit – you just pay for car parking – and there are guided tours of the house at an additional cost. Sadly it was fully booked when we visited but we had a really lovely wander around the grounds.

The estate is beautiful, with fantastic play parks, bridges, a walled garden and even a maze if you visit at the right time. Dumfries House Estate is vast, I feel like we only really scratched the surface, but we had a really nice time, enjoyed hot drinks from the cafe and got out in the fresh air. It was lovely and somewhere we would definitely visit again.

Ayr beach

We finished our outdoorsy day out with a trip to Ayr beach. We were hoping to maybe spot some sea glass but the beach was far too flat and sandy for that. Instead, we just had a windswept walk up and down which was a nice way to blow the cobwebs away!

Family and hospital trips

The next day was another dry one but it was bookmarked for family time. My Dad had his first hospital appointment since he broke his leg and so I took him along for x-rays and chats with doctors before we headed to see my grandparents. We didn’t realise what a long day this would be – as wasn’t sure how long we’d be at the hospital – but the kids did really well, not complaining at all. And they loved seeing my grandparents who they hadn’t seen since they were toddlers.

The Riverside Museum

It was then time for our biggest adventure yet! We started at The Riverside Museum, somewhere we visited briefly in 2016 to break up a road trip, and it was lovely to return. The museum is a fantastic transport museum and has so many vehicles from different eras – with Little Man absolutely loving the trains!

They also had a Retro Reels exhibit on over half term so we got to see lots of models, vehicles and characters from classic movies which was a great addition to the day out – along with the old fashioned street that we all really liked walking along and exploring.

The Tall Ship Glenlee

Outside the Riverside Museum is The Tall Ship Glenlee, originally a British cargo vessel and also used for training by the Spanish Navy. The ship is fantastic to explore and somewhere else we hadn’t been in nearly ten years. There’s a tiny cafe tucked away below deck and so many rooms set out as they would have been when the ship was in use. It’s well worth popping into if you’re visiting The Riverside Museum – although there is a small cost, it was around £9 for the three of us.

The Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery

Our last stop of the day was to the Kelvingrove Museum – somewhere I only heard of a day or two before and couldn’t wait to see for myself. It was like a mini Natural History Museum – utterly beautiful and packed to the rafters with Ancient Egypt, taxidermy animals, incredible works of art and an organ being played in the middle of it all. It was wonderful – and only about a 15 minute walk from The Riverside Museum.

Birthday lunch

The next couple of days we were wiped out from doing too much and also getting the beginnings of colds so we had some down time, aside from seeing my Dad to take him out for a birthday lunch! It was lovely to have time with him over the course of the week and something we all really appreciated.

We drove home early again on Saturday, starting at 7:30am and stopping three times on the way. We actually managed to get home at 3:45pm which I was thankful for as, by this point, I was full of a cold and took myself straight off to bed!

All in all it was a lovely week away. The kids are fantastic travel buddies and the best company. It was nice to stay somewhere new, visit new places, see ones again that we hadn’t been to for years and catch up with family too.