Very clean on the edge of The Meadows. There are swings, slide, and climbing structure. Lots of…read moreparents and young children. Did not see any snack counters.

Ok, so I'm obviously not a five-year old child anymore. (I can type and spell and use words like…read moreincongruous, though I haven't had the opportunity yet). But I like play parks. There comes a point when people stop making fun things for you. I mean, I'm in my early 20s, so people give me clothes and books instead of water-guns. Which is totally valid. But I think every now and then people should give their friends bouncy balls and hoola-hoops and frisbees. Seriously. So, this playpark is not half as cool as the one on the Meadows, but it's in a quieter less crowded part of the park. They have slides and monkey bars and all sort of fun things. I've many a time seen children having fun on them. (I've also seen older teenagers having fun on them. At night. With beer). If you feel like you're tired of being 20, maybe have a visit. If you're a parent, then take your children there, 'cause that's where it looks like the party is.

A hidden gem which your Julia Donaldson loving little ones will love to visit!…read moreWe call this Gruffalo Wood because of the Gruffalo-themed carvings dotted near the entrance of the Loch. The Loch itself is fairly small, taking only 15-20 mins to walk around. There is lots of nature and wildlife to explore here from toadstools to frogs to wild raspberries to dragonflies... We met a particularly large, and bold, swan today whilst feeding the ducks! On our last visit we stumbled across hundreds and hundreds of baby frogs migrating across the pathway to the Loch. This has become a regular location for us to visit with our little Julia Donaldson fan. There is a play park at the far end of the Loch from the little car park off Kilmardinny Avenue and if you need something to eat or liquid refreshments after your walk there is a recently opened Waitrose with a lovely cafe minutes away by car or foot!

We visited here after discovering Gruffalo Wood through Ali's review :)…read more My friend was visiting with her 6 and 3yr old girls and we took A in his pram. We really enjoyed walking round the loch in the sunshine, the path is pretty easy going for littles and the pram alike, and there are a few places to stop along the way and see the ducks or discover the awesome carvings. We couldn't find the play park, perhaps a little sign would help, but we asked someone and soon found the little path leading up to it. There were some different play areas to explore including an awesome rope swing that the adults enjoyed too! We had a great, free day out and it worked well to tire out the kids. Would highly recommend.

So with excitement we drove here from East Kilbride. It took an hour and a half to get to the…read morelocation and then we saw the queue of cars!! It took 40 minutes to get through to the car park and the rain was lashing down. I would definitely advise coming early to skip through to a parking space and not do a snails pace wait to it. The rain had thankfully dispersed by the time we were out and about. We paid £7 admission and got a map of the site. It was not the clearest map and it was really difficult to tell which way to go! We just went for it, and I think it worked out for the best. Loved all the weirdness and got some lovely photos of the experience. I would never have heard of it if it hadn't been for Yelpers last year raving about it. So thank you!!

I've been planning a visit to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation at Portrack House for some years…read more The place only opens once a year for just five hours and the entry fee of £7 is shared between Maggies Centres charity and the Scotland Garden scheme who organise the event. This year I got my wish and despite it being a bit of a damp day the rain held off for most of our stay. Boy was i glad I wore my hefty walking boots and waterproof trousers. There was much mud to navigate and a pair of walking poles wouldn't have gone amiss to traverse some of the slippery hills. The Garden of Cosmic Speculation was well worth the drive to Dumfries and Galloway. There were some basic refreshment facilities but we took a picnic and a big flask of coffee. Well behaved dogs are welcome, there are loos and portaloos (be ready to queue) and the parking is very well organised. Not wheelchair friendly and a bit of a challenge in places for the less able. Hugely recommend a visit! If you're feeling impatient why not visit Jupiter Artland in Edinburgh or the Crawick Multiverse near Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway, as they share the same garden designer Charles Jencks.

This place is fantastic for a sunny day out (if you're fortunate enough to catch one)…read more It's an unusual place to visit in that you have the combined attractions of forest walks with one of the longest beaches in Scotland (around 5 miles). There's also a large picnic table area which permits BBQ's, so you really could spend the whole day here. Access to the site is currently a very reasonable £2 per vehicle and there is plenty of parking as well as toilet facilities. If you've not been before, I'd definitely recommend it for a relaxing day trip!

Warm friendly staff, good food friendly atmosphere'. If you are in the area well worth a visitread more

Perfect location for a walk around the lake, nice little cafe to take refreshments if required. I…read morewould certainly drop in again in passing. Water sports and fishing available on or around the lake. Plenty of wildlife about also.

Excellent country park not too far from the city of Edinburgh. Vogrie has a lovely children's…read moreadventure playground, and a miniature railway which runs during the summer. There are lovely woodland walks and a decent cafe in the old Vogrie House. Or bring a picnic and relax in one of the barbecue areas. If you want to have a barbecue you have to book in advance. Some nice sculptures in the grounds too. We love the big chairs and the big tricycle! Our children always love a visit to Vogrie Park, and several of the after school clubs we know of always make a visit there part of their holiday club programme, and there's enough to keep adults happy too!

Vogrie is a great park for all the family maintained by the council…read more Vogrie is a large park with walks through woodland area and grassed areas. There are play parks,picnic area and a BBQ area. Vogrie house sits within the grounds and has a cafe in the summer time. Children love Vogire it is a very safe place for them to run around and play, needless to day it can get very busy in the school holidays. Vogrie host a summer open day in August each year which has shows, stalls, competitions, a train that takes you around the park etc etc. Other attractions are the big chairs which are giant sizes and the big trike sculpture.

we spent a whole day in craigtoun and really enjoyed it. it…read morewas £5 each to enter, but once you are inside everything else is free. we went on the boating lake twice, the second time the queues where pretty big, played putting golf, played crazy golf, went on the miniture train, played a few games of bowls and walked round some lovely gardens. the little ones went on the trampolines, bouncy castles and the play equiptment. we took a picnic although there was a cafe we only bought ice creams. there are toilets available also. we had a really enjoyable day and would recommend it to anyone. we found there to be one thing missing, a place that size could easill accomadte a maze, but thats personal opinion. really great place to vistit

From the owner: Craigtoun Country Park is a great-value family day out, just outside St Andrews. The park is open…read moreall year round with free entry, free parking and many free facilities. From Easter to October we run a selection of supervised, paid attractions. Seasonal Paid Attractions The Craigtoun Amenities will run from Saturday 28th March 2020 as follows: Monday - Sunday: 1030 - 1600 hrs (till 1730 hrs: 29th June - 23rd August) Saturday 28th March - Sunday 19th April: Open Daily Saturday 25th April - Sunday 24th May: Weekends Only Mon 4th, Fri 8th, Thu 21st, Fri 22nd & Mon 25th May: Special Holiday Openings Saturday 30th May - Sunday 23rd August: Open Daily Saturday 29th August - Sunday 27th September: Weekends Only Saturday 3rd - Sunday 25th October: Open Daily Ticket Prices Individual ride ticket (under 3s free) - £1.70 Buy 10 tickets, get 1 free - £17.00 Day Band Individual (under 3s free) - £8.50 Day Band for a Group of Three - £24.00 Day Band for a Group of Four - £28.00 Day Band for an Additional Group Member - £5.00 Season Pass Individual (under 3s free) - £32.00 Season Pass for a Group of Three - £80.00 Season Pass for a Group of Four - £90.00 Season Pass for an Additional Group Member - £25.00 The Craigtoun Café Wednesday 25th March - Sunday 25th October: Open Daily, 1000 - 1700 hrs (hot food till 1600 hrs) Off Season: Wednesday - Sunday, 1000 - 1600 hrs (hot food till 1500 hrs)

Very nice playground for kids of toddler to primary school ages. Flying fox, swings, bridges, and…read morelots more. Accessible via safe walkway along train tracks.

This is 'the' place to hang out for dog walkers and young folks when the sun is out. A quick look…read morearound will make it clear there are a lot of dogs and students in this area. The park is only small but that just means you'll bump into more people you'll know.

I'd normally start by telling you a little about the history. There's just way too much to…read moresummarize here. Just know that the castle was once in ruin like the others in the area. We can thank George Stuart (14th Earl of Moray) for repairing it by adding a new roof in the 1880s. That makes it very worth the £10 admission fee for an inside tour of the castle. It's worth a stop even if you don't plan on taking the tour. Have you ever seen the British comedy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail? It's the castle that you see in the funniest part of the movie when the French soldier is taunting King Arthur. There were other movie scenes filmed in and around the castle as well. What's cool is that there's a free transcript of the audio guide on their website that tells you where all the scenes took place. It was fun just to retrace the steps of the Trojan Rabbit on the pathway in front of the entrance. So funny! It's definitely a dry & satirical form of humor that I didn't quite understand the first time I saw it, but now I do. Duone Castle was also seen in Game of Thrones (the pilot episode) and Outlander. It's just a great filming location since it's out of the way, and along the River Teith. There are walking trails that will take you to the site of where a Roman fort used to be. The village is also nearby if you want to get a bite to eat. It was a nice stop on our way to Glencoe.

We were staying in the area for a few days. Didn't have much time though, got lots of plans. But…read morestill made some time to check out the famous Doune Castle. And since we are members of Historic Environment Scotland the entrance was free of charge. The carpark was full though - so we parked on the public lot behind the Co-op in town. An easy 10 minute walk away. The Castle is famous - many will know it from Game of Thrones or Outlander. But for me - and many many others - it will always be connected to Monty Python and the Holy Grail! The Audio-guide is even narrated by Terry Jones! The way the castle looks today is largely down to 'Scotland's uncrowned king'. Doune was the seat of Robert Stewart, the 1st Duke of Albany and Governor of Scotland. He acquired the castle in 1361. What we see today is probably only half a castle. Whether Doune was completed, and what might have been lost, is unclear. But even what remains today is very impressive and in great shape. If you do not feel like paying the entrance, you still can enjoy the outside views and even walk around it or enjoy the grounds outside. But going in (we took turns - since we were travelling with our Bulldog) is well worth the price and time. Monty Python used the exterior for shots as well as the interior. The courtyard inside is where the wedding party was taking place with John Cleese (as Lancelot) going berserk. But there's a lot more to see inside. Besides all the big halls inside, there are lots of small corners and hideaways to be discovered. As well as a lot of history to read (or listen to). A really good visit and not to be missed for fans or history buffs! Staff was wonderful, really friendly and welcoming. Surely a highlight on this years Road Trip through the UK. Highly recommended.