We were there in late August (a long time ago) and the weather approached freezing at night and was in the low fifties at the most during the day, so maybe little colder than that? And kinda rainy with some clear partial days.

October is the rainiest month in Edinburgh. Temps will be low of 40 high of 55. But Scotland is never a place to go to for the weather.

Plan to spend an entire day roaming around the old town in Edinburgh. I think kids will love it with all of the winding narrow alleys and hidden places. It is a wonderland. Plus, after four days pent up on a slow moving boat, I'd think kids will enjoy being active and roaming around.

My idea of how to spend time is the complete opposite of your family. So although I spent two weeks in Scotland, I think my recommendations would be the polar opposite of yours!

There was a lot of Harry Potter stuff in Edinburgh. Again, not my cup of tea, but maybe kids would like it.

The driving is easy to pick up.

Thanks, Pal and Kendrah.

The kids are aware of Harry Potter, but they are too young to be into it yet. The twins are currently 3rd grade and the littlest is Sr. Kindergarten.

The slow moving boat is going to be a challenge, but we are hoping that some of the engineering along the way will capture their attention - there are 2 tunnels to ”sail” through and an aquaduct that crosses either a highway or farmland. Either way, you are way up high in a boat above dry land.

If October is the rainiest month, we may need to put this off until the summer of 2027. DGS asked the other day where we were going for our next big trip. I told him Scotland, but did not give details. I may have to walk that back.

Their Spring Break is in March, but that is out because the narrowboats are unavailable that early in the year.

Depending on their interests, it may be fun to visit an archeological dig site that is open to the public, my nephew --and more recently, my great nephew, was really into archeology. My BFF (an archeologist) did a year in Scotland back in the 80s so her experience isnt current but if you are interested, I am sure she could give some suggestions as to active sites and references.

Of course there are many sites archeological digs across the world-- and I am sure some that are much grander. It struck me on this thread because of BFFs time there.

Do take them to see the Kelpies sculpture, right near the Falkirk Wheel(which is amazing!)

As I recall, we went in May and it rained pretty much the whole trip, but thats Scotland. I think the kids would enjoy Edinburgh Castle, especially the huge cannons.We took a touristy whiskey ride in Edinburgh. You ride in little moving cars to learn about whisky, but it was fun and you got a free sample at the end, which the kids could skip!

We did go to St Andrews and walked around the course. The setting is beautiful and the clubhouse is iconic.

They might enjoy a short ferry ride to an island We went to the Isle of Raasay. The wonderful hotel there, Raasay House, offers a lot of outdoor activities. We enjoyed driving and hiking around.

I went in summer and one of my favorite things was the gloaming. I think I would go in high season. There are lots of spots that are ideal in October, not Scotland IMHO.

PS I don't consider playing golf at St Andrews burning half a day! I would call it the very best kind of travel memory. Did you want to play the "Old Course"?

Yes, anyone can play at St. Andrews, but the Old Course has specific requirements, primarily a handicap of 36 or less, and is highly sought after, so getting a tee time is difficult and often requires entering a lottery or queuing. The St. Andrews Links Trust manages seven courses in total, and while all are open to the public, the Old Course has the strictest rules.

Local, the Kelpies and the area around them are at the top of the list with the narrowboats. I’m intrigued. Plus, I just read that they are now letting people climb into the mouth of one of them. I looked closely at the pictures. I’m not sure I understand how that happens, but if it does, we’ll do it!

Ded, love the idea of a ferry ride to an island! And I’ve been told that Edinburgh Castle is a ”must see,” so it may be our one castle. DSIL would probably enjoy the whisky tour. I’ve gotten to where I don’t drink brown liquor and DD doesn’t drink at all. But she and I would still like to learn about it. Even if there is no golf involved, I don’t want to miss St. Andrews!

Funky, the dig sounds like something the kiddos would enjoy for a little while. I have a friend whose son works on a dig at Luxor and that would be fantastic to go to, but I think Scotland is much more attainable for us.

ETA: Mtn, DD, who played on her college’s golf team, has the required handicap, but I think she is the only one amongst us. DSIL is good but has only taken up the sport since he married DD. The kids play every Saturday at the country club, but it’s little kid golf (no scoring, not many rules, keep it fun). And I haven’t played in ages. I thought the par 3 would be good for all of us. I agree, making memories is what travel with the kids is all about.

I think Stirling Castle might be better than Edinburgh Castle for the kids, and I kind of prefer it too.

No advice, just wondering if you need a nanny? After following the Cruising the Cut video blog and the Timothy West and Prunella Scales (both RIP) cruising series, my next goal is traveling on a narrowboat. DMIL grew up in a Yorkshire town with a canal and remembers the narrowboats coming through with cargo (and ”dropping” bits of coal for local fellow ”charcoal Billy” I think she called him, to scavenge for his home).

Heartily agree that playing golf and having lunch somewhere on the premises would be the best possible use of a whole day, along with a trip to whatever pro shop is available to stock up on next Christmas gifts for their golf instructors as well as anything cute for yourselves.

Agree that Stirling Castle is more engaging than Edinburgh. Any thoughts of a trip to Iona? The abbey is gorgeous but it’s pretty miserable on the island if it’s rainy and cold.

It's been many many years since we were in Scotland, but it strikes me that it's not the greatest spot for kids of that age. Can you break the vacation into two parts and go somewhere else? And yes, I'd wait until the following May. Better than super rainy cold October. If they love animals, the story of Greyfriars Bobby is a must. And the creepy old graveyards with stories of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I can't suggest things to do with kids there, as our vacation there would not have appealed, but do prepare for some cold and windy weather. We were there in October and had planned to do a good deal of hiking, but it was much too windy/cold/rainy to do so. We aren't golfers, but golf would have been out of the question with the weather during our trip.

I just returned from a trip that included Scotland & Ireland on the 30th of Sept. I saw the Edinburgh castle, Sterling castle & the Dunrobin castle. Dunrobin was my favorite hands down. The gardens & the view of the ocean beyond are amazing. There are many furnished rooms and authentic clothing to view. I believe it has 1800 rooms total. I also saw the Kelpies which we enjoyed a lot. The weather at the end of Sept, was great, a light jacket or rain coat was perfect.

Here's a link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby

All the castles kind of ran together in my mind. The one I remember most was on a cliff overlooking the ocean and you had to walk down ( and back up) a hill to get to it.

Dunnottar was the castle that was mind boggling to me. I cant imagine anyone living there, eapecially in winter, but it was astounding to see, especially the views out to the ocean.

Dunnottar

I whole-heartedly agree about limiting castles and churches (and palaces where that is a thing).

I ike to wander in a museum, but I was always very much "top hits" oriented when we took our kids to museums, with the happy result that they do remember most of what they saw, are glad they saw it and relate it to other things. When we were in Amsterdam for Christmas year before last, they were very engaged and spent a fair amount of time at the Rijksmuseum. Okay that is one thing I think I got right as a parent! whew

We were 3 generations (DH and I, 3 sons and spouses and 2 teen grrandkids) in Scotland at the end of August 2024. All but DH and I climbed Mt. Nevis in pouring rain and 50 MPH winds, so that gives you an idea of what weather might be. On other days it was sunny and cool and usually windy. We're West coast so we flew Iceland Air to Glasgow (great way to go.) We drove a loop from West to East, ending in Stirling area. I would think that with Grandkids the age yours are that would be preferable to the boat, so the kids could get out and roam. Scotland is a great place to do that. Scotland has a lot of "glamping," which really sounds like fun, but I discovered it too late. There's a Harry Potter? train they also might enjoy, not running when we were there. We're both Scots and DH's Mom was an Urquhardt, so of course we did Inverness and the Castle. The drive from there to Stirling was truly gorgeous.

Do the grandkids love golf too?

One of my favorite pictures of the twins. They play in the little kids’ group almost every weekend at the country club. So does their little sister.

Mother played a round at St. Andrews. I don’t know which course. She said she had never been so cold in her entire life as she was that day! ETA: She was playing in June or July.

I remember that picture! I love it too.

I would definitely figure out a way for them to play!

We were there this July/Aug. Everyday our tour guide ended our day with "come ready for RAIN tomorrow, ya don't get two days in a row in Scotland w/o rain. He said it everyday. Not one day did it rain on us. I think you have a challenge ahead of you with children, given all the walking we did. It's not the left side of the road driving it's that coupled with the narrow roads that will be a challenge. Our tour guide/bus driver had great fun pointing out the out of town drivers as they snarled up traffic time and time again! The viaduct to see the train well is a hike. Churches and castles are around every corner, and I would agree children will get bored quickly. I was going to suggest Alnwick Castle as it has the HP connection as well as gardens that are fabulous as well as seeing how royals actually live as well as a fun tree house play yard, but it's in England. We took a day trip that took us across the boarder.

Achmelvich Beach would be great fun for kids--on a warm day. So much of Scotland is about being outside, I might rethink when you go. We chose August to hit the Royal Tattoo, as my daughter is a piper. First time in 75 years it's been cancelled due to weather, high winds, Storm Floris!! We HIGHLY recommend our tour company. They have trips of varying days one can choose, they can set you up in AirBnBs that allow authentic Scotland living experiences.

t's not the left side of the road driving it's that coupled with the narrow roads that will be a challenge.

Can confirm. We like road trips, and DH has driven on the "wrong" side many times. One thing we said on our recent trip was, can you imagine driving these roads in a car big enough for our whole family?

It took so much vigilance to drive, and navigate. And often we would find ourselves in a tiny town where it seemed near impossible to to get through, not to mention park.. But the cute little old downtowns are exactly the places you want to go, so...

If we were to do it again in these areas, I'd hire a driver. That way we could enjoy the scenery more.

It when drivers go to 'back up" which you do every few minutes that trouble ensues!!!

"Plan to spend an entire day roaming around the old town in Edinburgh. " This statement has been rattling around in my head. I would caution this advise. We figured we put on many miles our days exploring, churches, castle, grave yard, gardens. Mine at that age would never have held up. Old Edinburgh is a tourist trap at it's worst. At it's best there are all the things mentioned above. When I had children the age your grands will be they would have lasted maybe two hours in a situation like that. #1 public bathrooms are few and far far between. #2 the begging, can I can I can I have_____? would drive me up a wall. The Mary King's Close tour could be spooky fun for kids, so there's that. Are the street performers out in the Oct. temps is something to find out as they would break up all the walking and looking at buildings for kids.

After reading and considering all of the good advice and comments here, I think the best course of action is to delay our Scotland trip until the summer of 2027. As of yesterday, I’m considering a short cruise to Alaska for summer 2026. I think I can shoehorn it in. DGS has asked to go to Alaska multiple times and DGD1 loves cruising. DGD2 doesn’t seem to have an opinion.

Back to Scotland…. now scheduled for 2027 which gives me a little breathing room to plan. Re self-catered apartments. Which areas of town are the best for renting a VRBO or AirBnB? Are there sections to avoid?