Skye and Glasgow - where to go.. what to do...

[Fetchez la vache]

We've got a few days in Glasgow before heading to Skye for a week, so was after any recommendations as to where to go, and good places to eat (not too posh as I've 2 kids).

Glasgow - not interested in football stadium visits, and alas can't justify the sea plane which looks fantastic I have to say.
Skye - anything goes really - we're staying near Elgol but anything on Skye would be fab - We'l be visiting Eilean Donan castle but otherwise would like to stay on Skye for the duration really. Though young we've made sure the kids are out-dory types from the off.

Any ideas would be great cheers

[whirligig]

We visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow the other day and it was great. There is currently a Dr Who exhibition on (which you do have to pay for) but apart from that all is free. Plenty for kids to see and do including creepy-crawlie hands-on workshop, also organ recitals, guided tours etc. Really good day out.

Also, the Science Centre is great, even for young kids, and there's quite a good aquarium at Balloch near Loch Lomond.

On Skye there's the glass bottomed boat out of Kyleakin which is good, otherwise roam around at will, plenty nice beaches etc. Sleat in the south of Skye is nice (Isle Ornsay hotel nice for a pub dinner). Now that you don't have to pay any bridge tolls it's worth leaving the island maybe to go and see Plockton or even a trip over to Applecross over the Bealach na Ba and a lunch out there in the Inn.

[jshell]

Glasgow Museum Of Transport is a good day out! People's Palace on Glasgow Green for local history. Burrel collection is ace. For the kids there's a Butterfly Garden and creepy-crawly centre in, I think Pollock or Belahouston park. If the weather is nice, Botanic Gardens is a lovely place to sit and have lunch.

[ruddermode]

You could wave as you go past (we live in Elgol )

There's the Talisker distillery in Carbost if you're into whisky (I'll be taking the brother-in-law when they visit in January)

From Elgol itself there are two boats that run into Loch Coruisk - the Bella Jane and the Misty Isle. We use the latter as the owners are friends of ours, so that would bias any recommendation I made to you
If the children are fairly young don't be tempted by the coast path from Elgol to Camasunary - there are a couple of short scrambles and vertical drop-offs, people fall off it every year. If you want to walk over to Camasunary park near Kilmarie - a couple of miles from Elgol - where there is a car park for 10-20 cars, and head over the hill.
Also in Kilmarie there is Dun Ringill http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/skye/dunringill.sht... - remember to duck as you go through the entrance!

Elgol/Glasnakille have the Spar Cave and Prince Charlie's cave - take a torch! And they're also tide dependant.

When the tide is out Torrin has a large and usually completely empty beach, although you'd need to park on the 'main' road, roughly http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=57.209133,-6.0130...

Another good beach is the coral beach http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5809 up at the north end near Dunvegan.

If the weather is bad, in Broadford there is the Serpentarium http://www.skyeserpentarium.org.uk/ - small but interesting and my wee lad loves going there. If the next day has really bad weather as well then there are swimming pools in Portree and Kyle of Localsh.

Another thing he enjoys is a trip as a foot passenger on the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig http://www.calmac.co.uk/summer-timetable.html?id=s....
Time it right and you'll just be in time to see the Jacobite http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/Jacobite_Home.c... arrive.

The glass-bottomed boat http://www.seaprobeatlantis.com/
has already been mentioned - although it's in Kyle (of Localsh) not Kyleakin. There is also a boat trip http://www.calums-sealtrips.com/ in nearby Plockton which will be free if you fail to see any seals - you won't get it for free!

That should be enough to get you started

[anonymous-user]

If you are going to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and/or Transport Museum, I can heartily recommend this place for food as it's very close to both:

www.lebowskis.co.uk

Proper food cooked from scratch with fresh local ingredients, good portions/value and should be kid-friendly - I've been a few times and tried everything from the cheese board to the pasta of the day and haven't been disappointed - apparently the owner/head chef won masterchef a few years ago!

[mcgus]

ruddermode said:

You could wave as you go past (we live in Elgol )

There's the Talisker distillery in Carbost if you're into whisky (I'll be taking the brother-in-law when they visit in January)

From Elgol itself there are two boats that run into Loch Coruisk - the Bella Jane and the Misty Isle. We use the latter as the owners are friends of ours, so that would bias any recommendation I made to you
If the children are fairly young don't be tempted by the coast path from Elgol to Camasunary - there are a couple of short scrambles and vertical drop-offs, people fall off it every year. If you want to walk over to Camasunary park near Kilmarie - a couple of miles from Elgol - where there is a car park for 10-20 cars, and head over the hill.
Also in Kilmarie there is Dun Ringill http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/skye/dunringill.sht... - remember to duck as you go through the entrance!

Elgol/Glasnakille have the Spar Cave and Prince Charlie's cave - take a torch! And they're also tide dependant.

When the tide is out Torrin has a large and usually completely empty beach, although you'd need to park on the 'main' road, roughly http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=57.209133,-6.0130...

Another good beach is the coral beach http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5809 up at the north end near Dunvegan.

If the weather is bad, in Broadford there is the Serpentarium http://www.skyeserpentarium.org.uk/ - small but interesting and my wee lad loves going there. If the next day has really bad weather as well then there are swimming pools in Portree and Kyle of Localsh.

Another thing he enjoys is a trip as a foot passenger on the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig http://www.calmac.co.uk/summer-timetable.html?id=s....
Time it right and you'll just be in time to see the Jacobite http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/Jacobite_Home.c... arrive.

The glass-bottomed boat http://www.seaprobeatlantis.com/
has already been mentioned - although it's in Kyle (of Localsh) not Kyleakin. There is also a boat trip http://www.calums-sealtrips.com/ in nearby Plockton which will be free if you fail to see any seals - you won't get it for free!

That should be enough to get you started

you'll not get any better advice than everything said here fantastic. And I'd only echo the comment about the coast path to Camasunary but if you're up to it, it is a fantastic walk.

[Taita]

Talisker is very nice, and the local girls are yummy also.

[BigAlinEmbra]

Kelvingrove is a must see. If you want an idea of the esteem it's held in by Glaswegians, the refurbishment campaign had a target of £5m. It raised nearly £13m.
The Hunterian at the Uni is also worth a visit, and pretty close by Kelvingrove.
Ashton Lane and Ruthven Lane just across Byres Rd have lots of good eating places.
Stravaigin 2 on Ruthven Lane is "home of the best burger in the wst end" which might appeal to the kids. I'd definitely vouch for it.

Loch Lomond Shores at Balloch might be worth a stop for a wee refuel on the way. Jenners for the missus, sea life centre for the kids, nice view up the loch too. Kilted Skirlie does decent food at good prices and the staff are really friendly.

If you're heading up the coast then the Crinan Canal might interest the kids if the like engineering type stuff (saves boats going round the Mull of Kintyre) and it's in a nice bit of the country. You could carry on to Dunadd, which is where the ancient Kings of Scotland were once crowned. There's a wee footprint on the top and if your foot fits then you could be King. It's about a size 5 welly (or it was when I was a kid), so it might excite them thinking they could be King of Scotland. There's lots of standing stones and burial mounds round this area, so if you want to cram in some ancient history could be good.
Oban is nice and about 35-40 mles up the road from here. Lots of ferries to the islands, and McCaig's folly looks cool up on the hill.

Further north my knowledge runs out, but I'm sure Mr Carter will pop up with some stunning photos.

Glasgow Museums...
http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/

Dunadd
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/scotland/argyll...

Apologies for the high level of geekery, my chilhood holiday always had a level of edyookashunalism about them.

[Fetchez la vache]

Can I just say a big thanks to everyone that's put the time in to put their words of wisdom down - & sorry couldn't reply sooner - internet access at work is tighter than a ducks bottom...

I'll be further researching all the suggestions to add to the itinerary - Its amazing what PH comes up with as most of these are new to me. I don't want to single anyone out as they're all valuable contributions but it sounds like Ruddermode's warning of the walk to Camasunary is worthy of a mention - thanks! I don't want my little-un to be another dumb tourist statistic - we get enough of them round here in Pembrokeshire, so always good to take local advice

Any more recommendations on eateries more than welcome, but thanks again for the above - I'll be visiting quite a few of your ideas.. (& sorry if I got a bit gushy earlier )

[ruddermode]

For a break on the way up have you considered the Falkirk Wheel? http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk/
If heading round the Stirling way there is also Blair Drummond Safari Park http://www.blairdrummond.com/ to keep the kids amused and stretch their legs after a long car journey.
The Loch Lomond route doesn't really have anything as child friendly but is a bit shorter and has more scenery.
The two routes join at Crianlarich (unless you're going the long way round via the A9/Inverness/Loch Ness in which case there're lots of other distractions).

To get onto/off Skye itself you've got three choices -
1) The bridge - the usual route past Eilean Donan castle and Kyle of Localsh
2) Ferry from Mallaig to Armadale (turn left at Fort William, apparently the Mallaig road has been made much better in the last few years)
3) Ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea http://www.skyeferry.co.uk/ (turn off the A87 at Shiel Bridge)

As for eating out we're not really much for doing it (small child and it being a fair drive to get anywhere), but here's a few thoughts.
In Elgol itself you've got Coruisk House http://www.seafood-skye.co.uk/. There is also a coffee shop half way down the hill to the sea and the local shop/post office does sandwiches, cakes and drinks.
In Torrin there is the Blue Shed Cafe ( http://www.blaven.com/torrin.aspx again).

Broadford has lots of places - there is a chippy by the end of the Elgol road, there Creelers http://www.skye-seafood-restaurant.co.uk/ (note the creels picture at the top was taken in Elgol - the view of the Cuilins from here pops up all over the place )
The Harbour Restaurant http://www.harbourbroadford.co.uk/ (always thought of it as more of a cafe for some reason).
The serpentarium has a cafe next door to it.
The Beinn na Caillich cafe (pr. Ben na Callick) is near the Post Office.
There's also the Claymore and various hotels/pubs that do food. I'm sure to have forgotten some others!

If you're using the Mallaig ferry there is the Pasta Shed right by the Armadale ferry terminal which is small but convenient.

Further afield we used to go to Off the Rails in Plockton, but I think that's changed hands now and the owners run http://www.plocktonshoresrestaurant.co.uk/ near the seafront instead.
North end of Skye eateries I don't know anything about, apart from the Three Chimneys which (to me ) is eye-wateringly expensive.

[BigAlinEmbra]

I like the way you recommend the Falkirk Wheel and Blairdummond but not the Wallace monument or Stirling Castle!

Forgot to add that if you're doing loads of historic type stuff then checking out the multi ticket or memberships on Historic Scotland is worth a squiz.

[ruddermode]

BigAlinEmbra said:

I like the way you recommend the Falkirk Wheel and Blairdummond but not the Wallace monument or Stirling Castle!

I was concentrating on the "get the kids out of the car and get them to go 'wow' at something" ideas.

[anonymous-user]

Boat trip or walk to Lock Courisk, and walk up to the old man of Storr.
Did them with when I was a kid, and remebre them to this day.