Scotland has some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve ever seen. We were lucky to spend 3 weeks in the summer for our holiday in Scotland with kids. When we travel with our kids, we tend to spend as much time outside in nature being active as possible, so we knew that Scotland would be right up our alley. But it wasn’t all hiking and some of the hikes we did were so much fun for the kids.
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Here are the Top 10 Things to do in Scotland for kids. We are confident that our kids would agree that these were the attractions in Scotland they enjoyed most.
Top 10 Things to do with Kids in Scotland
Still working on your Scotland Itinerary with kids? Here is our 3 week itinerary for Scotland with some suggestions for a 2 week Scotland Itinerary and a 10 day Scotland Itinerary.
Old Man of Storr Hike on the Isle of Skye
Parents will love this hike for the incredible views, but kids will love it for the rocks they get to climb. Our kids love to climb rocks and we are pretty sure they are typical kids when it comes to climbing.
The Old Man of Storr hike on the Isle of Skye is one of the most popular hikes, so we recommend doing this at the start of the day. If your kids are anything like ours, they’ll have you up early anyways.
Read more about hiking the Old Man of Storr with kids.
Fairy Glen on the Isle of Skye
What kid wouldn’t love being let loose to run through these magical hills only to end up at a fun spiral or climb to the top of Castle Ewan.
Check out our video on YouTube on the Fairy Glen with kids! And subscribe to our channel while you are there!
That’s exactly what our kids did. We got to the top of the first hill and they took off. Thankfully we were able to see them for a long while. Even on a rain day, we could tell this was a magical place. It was definitely one of the best places to go with kids in Scotland and on the Isle of Skye.
See our full Isle of Skye with kids itinerary in this post.
Conic Hill in Loch Lomond
We’ll be perfectly honest, the kids might not have chosen Conic Hill as one of the top things to do in Scotland with kids but we still think it should be included. It’s such a family friendly hike and the views are more than worth it!
Conic Hill was our first hike in Scotland and we were blown away by the views!
Read more on hiking Conic Hill with kids in this post and the best things to do in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National park with kids.
Harry Potter Train from Fort William to Mallaig
What kid doesn’t love trains? Whether they are old enough to know about Harry Potter or not, they will still love riding the train. If you are like us and find the Jacobite to be sold out, you can find the best alternatives in our post on Fort William with kids.
We also took the opportunity to show our kids a clip of the train and the bridge from the Harry Potter movie, so they were pretty excited to see it in real life when we returned to watch the Hogwarts Express cross the Harry Potter bridge a few days later.
Get all the details on how to ride the Harry Potter Train in our Fort William with kids post. Also, be sure to check out all the amazing Harry Potter attractions in London.
Hermitage Woodland Walk in Tay Forest Park
What a fun surprise it was to hike the Hermitage Woodland Walk in Tay Forest Park just outside of Pitlochry. We broke up our trip from the Isle of Skye to Edinburgh with a couple of nights in Pitlochry. After all the hiking we did on the Isle of Skye, we took the opportunity to relax but snuck in this one short hike.
The kids had so much fun running in the forest looking for new discoveries at every turn, they hardly knew they were on a hike. They especially love the wishing trees and the hermitage.
We have an entire post full of all our best tips for hiking with kids and this one with all the best hiking gear for kids.
Riverside Museum in Glasgow
I couldn’t imagine a more fun way to start our Scotland Itinerary than a stop at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. Just keeping up with the kids through this museum was hard enough!
We’d guess their favorite parts were the Tall Ship and the beach outside.
Read more on how we spent our time in Glasgow with kids here.
National Museum of Scotland Edinburgh
One of the best museums we’ve been to with kids! Granted we don’t always make museums a priority since we’d rather be out hiking, but we even went to the National Museum of Scotland a second time. That should be enough to say how much our kids enjoyed this Scotland attraction for kids.
Edinburgh Castle
Though crowded [who’d expect anything less in Scotland in the summer] our kids enthusiasm for exploring the Edinburgh Castle could not be dampened. They loved running around checking out every building and room they could get into, not to mention the cannons.
Find even more things to do in Edinburgh with kids here.
The Waterfall Hike in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park
If ever there was a hike made just for kids, it’s this one. We’re pretty sure they didn’t even notice the waterfall on this trail. The entire trail is full of information on the forest with fun activities for the kids at each turn. This interpretive trail in the Trossachs National Park is definitely worth a stop with kids.
And if you are feeling tired of all the hiking, just take a break on the hammocks.
Try out all 5 easy walks in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park with kids
The Whangie
Though not technically part of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, we had to include this fun hike. The hike starts out simply enough working it’s way up the side of Auchineden Hill, but then you turn the corner and there it is. The Whangie. Our kids literally took off sprinting when they saw this area full of rocks they could climb.
The hike continues up the summit of Auchineden hill, where the kids could run wild. Truly a great family hike in Scotland.
To make it even better, adults will appreciate the views of the Scottish Highlands all along this hike.
Pairing this up with the Devil’s Pulpit made for the perfect day.
Get all the details on hiking the Whangie with kids in this post and visiting Devil’s Pulpit in our post on 5 easy walks in Loch Lomond NP.
Don’t miss our Packing List for Scotland with Kids. It has everything active families need for traveling to Scotland with kids!
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Celine Brewer is a dedicated family travel blogger with a profound passion for helping families create unforgettable adventures together. Her blog blends captivating travel narratives with practical tips for family-friendly destinations and enjoying active travel with kids. As a mother of two, she understands the unique challenges of traveling with children and offers valuable insights to empower parents.
When Celine isn't traveling with her husband and two kids, she's either working on one of her three travel sites [Family Can Travel, Baby Can Travel and Travel Banff Canada] or out enjoying the majestic Canadian Rockies her family calls home.
Is Scotland worth visiting with kids?
Scotland really is for kids. Step into the past and different worlds at our castles, historic ships, science centres and more brilliant places that children will love.
Where in Scotland is good for families?
Royal Yacht Britannia. 23,358. Speciality Museums • Ships. ... .
Arthur's Seat. 21,681. Geologic Formations. ... .
Edinburgh Castle. 52,972. Castles. ... .
National Museum of Scotland. 22,304. ... .
Camera Obscura and World of Illusions. 16,142. ... .
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. 15,787. ... .
Edinburgh Old Town. 16,315. ... .
Royal Mile. 25,893..
What is the number one attraction in Scotland?
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh It takes the title of Scotland's most-visited paid-for attraction.
Where not to miss in Scotland?
7 of the Best Places to Visit in Beautiful Scotland.
Edinburgh. The crown jewel of Scotland has to be Edinburgh. ... .
Loch Lomond. The “bonnie banks of Loch Lomond” have been enshrined in Scottish folk songs, and it's no wonder why. ... .
Loch Ness. ... .
Isle of Skye. ... .
Glenfinnan. ... .
Glen Coe. ... .
Isle of Islay..