Traveling to Scotland w/kids

We were in Edinburgh last June. I recommend staying in Edinburgh the three days and suggest the following if your kids really love castles:
1) Edinburgh Castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse. Poke around Royal Mile, especially in the courtyards between buildings. Carlton Hill in the evening will wear off excess energy.
2) National Museum of Scotland. We spent 2 days there--so much to see! Water of Leith park is beautiful and kids can spend some excess energy there.
3) Day trip to Stirling Castle. We used Rabbies and took the Loch Lomond National Park and Stirling Castle tour.

We spent 10 days in Edinburgh, took 3 day trips, and had a blast! But I don't like moving around from hotel to hotel and prefer to get to know a city and neighborhood. We stayed in an apartment in New Town and cooked breakfast and dinner to save money. It rained lightly most days and the temperatures were cool (light jacket) to warm. Layers and water resistant shoes are important there.

I don't know where you are staying in London nut I'll assume you'll be in Zone 1 for the ease of site seeing. So, when you consider the time it takes to get to an airport (with the obvious exception of London's City Airport), checking in & security, and traveling from the airport at your destination, it's probably faster to take the train. Plus, the train has WIFI in order to catch up on things...

It's easy to take the train from Edinburgh to Stirling and the castle is a short walk from the train station. You can also catch taxi or take a bus across town to the William Wallace monument. You can also take a bus (or taxi) to the Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Center.

If you only have 3 full days in Edinburgh, I wouldn't spend more than one day on a trip out of the local area. There's just too much to see and do in Edinburgh and the immediate area.

Do you mean you have two days in Edinburgh (including your arrival day from London) and then three days for the rest of what you want to do in Scotland (including your departure day onward to Ireland)?

I think this is what I'm settling on...
Arrive in EDI on the overnight train at 8am and have that day plus two more full days in EDI. Then plan to travel and base for a couple of nights in Inverness for Highland via car. Next thinking on about driving to Glencoe area with some sightseeing on the way. Finally, then travel to Glasgow for flight to Ireland.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you! Everyone

A few years ago we flew from Inverness to Belfast, then rented a car. for a week. I don't know if they still have those flights but it's worth checking.