Hi! We are going next summer to my best friend's wedding just east of Edinburgh. We have two daughters who will be 11 and 9 - they are fantastic travelers and have been overseas many times and are super excited to see their 'aunt' get married. But... as I'm looking at the various places we are considering I'm seeing a lot of fantastic looking B&Bs but nothing that is meant for families. I'm wondering if anyone has either been to (or heard of) family friendly places? We are flying into London where we plan to rent an apartment for 3 nights and then rent a car and head towards Scotland. Plans are flexible at the moment, we have about a week to arrive in the Edinburgh area. We usually rent apartments when we travel but there are so many quaint areas to visit that we aren't sure this is the most viable option for this trip. Any advice is appreciated!
Posted by
washington
837 posts
Go to tripadvisor.com. Search Edinburgh, and click family. There are 75 lodgings rated including the Balmoral Hotel which is located right above the train station.
Posted by
OP
Calgary, Canada
78 posts
Thanks, I will try that. Our accommodation in the Edinburgh area is actually already covered for the wedding (they have rented out a small castle) but it's all the other little towns and cities that I'm thinking about. Just wondering if anyone had been anywhere particularly family friendly. I will use that tip when looking at other places though, so thanks. :)
Posted by
Huntsville
117 posts
Kira, My family of 4 (kids 16 & 18) spent three wonderful days in Edinburgh this past May. We stayed at 23 Mayfield in the family room (the observatory). It easily slept the four of us. The breakfasts were wonderful and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. They have a very good rating on tripadvisor as well. I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip! Kristen
Posted by
OP
Calgary, Canada
78 posts
Thanks Kristen, that sounds nice! Did you visit any other places in Scotland (or Northern England/Wales) that you enjoyed?
Posted by
Tempe, AZ, USA
1266 posts
Kira - If you make it up to Inverness, I would highly recommend St Anns Guest House. The owners are very knowledgable of the goings on in the area.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
I would take the train to York and then pick up a car there. There are lots of things to see there of course. I would drive north. Castle Howard is impressive as is Rivaulx Abbey. Have your girls seen any of the show All Creatures Great and Small? That of course is based in the Yorkshire Dales. You could also go to Hexham and explore the borders area including Hadrian's Wall. Pam
Posted by
Huntsville
117 posts
Kira, After our short stay in Edinburgh we spent a week in the Cotswolds and a week in London. We did a day trip into Wales that was nice but we didn't care for Cardiff. I wish we would have had more time to visit the northern part of England/Wales. Our trip was wonderful and I'm sure yours will be as well. Kristen
Posted by
Atlanta
800 posts
Kira - I'm not sure if the B&B's you're looking at specifically say "no children" or just look like they're too fancy, but wanted to make a suggestion about getting rooms for a family. When we traveled with our children I would often contact the B&B directly with an email stating something along the lines of " we are a family of 4 with children ages 9 & 11. Do you have accommodations that would be suitable for us on the following dates...". A few times I got back an answer with rooms that were not on the website (a family apartment), or the offer of additional cots/rollaways in the room, or just a discounted price for two rooms when they knew that two of the travelers were children. We would mix up the room arrangements depending on price - 4 in a quad hotel room in expensive Copenhagen, but two separate rooms when we were in the countryside and it was cheaper. Even when our children were that young we sometimes put them in a separate room in the smaller places, but would split up mom & dad to sleep with one child each in the larger ones. We did not travel to Scotland as a family but did go to North Wales and enjoyed that area very much. Have a great trip!