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!

Beautiful large park with surrounding woodlands with lovely walks. The park has big old trees,…read morerhododendrons, rose gardens, sculptures, a maze, tea room, refreshment stand, large kids play areas, golf courses, crazy golf. Easy to get to by bus, Stagecoach buses to from Aberdeen and Westhill drop you off at entrance to the park. Also has the Piper Alpha memorial rose garden.

great park lovely when the rhodedendrons are out…read more loads to do and a brill childrens play area, plus childrens zoo loads of space

Great wee (actually quite big) walk surrounded by wonderful woodland and a fast flowing…read moreriver/waterfall. There's a great history to this place as well - worth stopping to read the various signposts. And those benches in the car park... MADNESS!

The things I love about this place is that if you take the anti-clockwise route, the waterfalls are…read morehidden and are a lovely surprise when going downhill. When the light is right, it hits the falls and looks beautiful. The return walk is approx 1hr, with some steep hills and slippy surfaces. Car parking is free I think, but if not, you can always park for free in the town itself and it is only a 5 minute walk to the start of the Birks. A gem and a must go!

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.

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 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.

Mother's day and a bit dreich. the Family had booked a 1pm "afternoon tea" at the Duthie Park…read moreCafe. An excellent spread with helpful staff. and in the overflow, so plenty of elbow room - though we did need to keep our coats on - no problem. We have had lunches there before, & been well served. The Winter Garden is a Jewel for the city with a lovely display all year round. At Hogmanay, we met a French journalist, doing tourist info, who specially liked it. The kids (2& 5) liked the whole experience and especially the talking cactus, and stamping the special medal for £1.01ea. The whole afternoon - good value. We left a generous donation as we had spent a lovely afternoon and have some cakes home with us for tomorrow. PS The cream for the excellent scones was proper whipped cream!

Ahh, sunny days in Aberdeen at Duthie Park. One of the best…read morethings about living in Scotland was how much people appreciated the sun. It's out less, so when it is people go crazy. Shirts off (even though it's still pretty chilly), picnics, dog walks, everyone shows up in Duthie Park for an ice cream. Glorious. Some seriously fond memories of Sunday afternoons spent with friends in Duthie Park. There's a huge amount of nicely trimmed grass for sitting or kicking a football around or throwing a frisbee. There's great paved paths for walking your dog or letting your kid ride their bike. There's also multiple play areas for children and some of them are really awesome. Notably the playground with a zip line (how fancy!--disclosure: I would wait around and try to get a go when kids weren't on it) and a roundabout (you never see those in playgrounds anymore!) and some pretty tall slides. There is a greenhouse garden full of exotic plants and loads of cacti that you can check out for free, which is a fun activity on a colder day. And there is an ice cream shop in that same area, which is of course great for those cherished warm, sunny summer days in Scotland. Overall Duthie Park is a very well-rounded area, with plenty of green space and a great place to spend some time with the whole family. I love going back when I'm back visiting Aberdeen.

I'm off to go a wandering around the mountain sides. Well I would do if I were a yeti (debatable…read morethat I'm not) or I didn't live in a place where we don't have mountains. Oh well luckily we have enough rolling hillsides and green spaces as a good substitute and Middleton Park is one such place. It's a pretty big expanse of ancient woodland and a designated nature reserve. You've also got grass land, a golf course and recreational areas. The woodland area is a particular favourite with me. It's quite simply lush. A little haven for all the little birdies and wood life creatures to dart about (and me, a big gormless idiot). It's really nice to take five from the busy centre and you'll also find streams, ponds and an abundance of flowers. I never get bored of seeing Bluebells and when they are in full swing it's a joy to behold. Add to that some tennis courts, a bowling green and even an education centre and you've got a very pleasant day out on your hands. Great to have such little pockets of joy in the area.

Whilst on my quarterly run I came across Allan Park…read more Maybe it was the lateness of the day, they grey skies or cold weather, but this park it pretty blah. There's a trail I started to walk down but stopped because it didn't look all that interesting. I've been told the area recently flooded the there is a staircase currently blocked off, so maybe it's blah for this reason. I'm not sure what it is, but this park doesn't seem all that popular with the locals.

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.