Aberdour Castle is located in Fife, just over the water from Edinburgh. Parts of it could be Scotland's oldest standing castle with later additions added. If you're a fan of Outlander, you'll recognize it from the first season. Spending a day at Aberdour Castle is a worthy day trip from Edinburgh and an experience you won't be able to replicate in the city. From the immaculately kept kid-friendly grounds to the history inside the castle, you'll be glad you visited. The journey to Aberdour ... Read More
Edinburgh day trip
Verdant Works Jute Mill
There are so many reasons I love exploring Scotland, but one of my favourites is that you can go almost anywhere and learn a super detailed and varied history. We have visited Dundee a handful of times since we moved to Edinburgh (it takes less than 1.5 hours by train) and it's easy to come up with reasons to go back. Most recently, we visited the Verdant Works Jute Mill. We spent a fascinating few hours there and could have easily spent longer. Verdant Works may not be at the top of your list ... Read More
A Day on Inchcolm Island
As much as I absolutely love Edinburgh (and I really do!), there are so many day trips outside the city that are worth exploring whether you live here or are visiting. We first spent a day on Inchcolm Island when we visited Scotland a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much (even though that day had some of the coldest rain I've ever felt) that we knew it was a place we'd take the girls to some day. It's an easy bus ride from the city to the boat and it's really worth spending a day on ... Read More
A Day at Linlithgow Palace
Linlithgow Palace was a huge hit with the girls. It's just a short train ride out of Edinburgh (so short that we didn't bother searching for seats) and makes for a lovely day. We went on a Sunday so a lot of shops in town were closed, but that only makes me want to go back all the sooner because there were craft shops I *need* to see inside. You can see the palace from the train station and walking there only takes about ten minutes if you aren't window-gazing. We made use of our Historic ... Read More
A Day at Craigmillar Castle
One of the first things we did when we arrived in Scotland was buy a Historic Scotland membership for the family. This gives us free access to over 300 historic sites across Scotland and I intend for us to work our way through all of them. Our first excursion with our membership was to Craigmillar Castle. Did you know that there's more than one castle in Edinburgh? You can reach it by bus in less than half an hour from the city center. It is well worth the trip out, is great fun for kids, and ... Read More