The Scottish Highlands With Kids
Glenfinnan Viaduct
A rugged wilderness, brimming with dramatic scenery, majestic mountains, mystical glens, ancient woods and deep blue, shadow-filled lochs. The Highlands of Scotland captivates both the mind and heart and will leave you longing for more of its beauty. We spent a wonderful week exploring Fort William and the surrounding areas, and we highly recommend heading here for an adventurous family break. Get outdoors, into nature and allow the ambience of this incredible place to wash over you, you won’t be disappointed.
Scottish Highlands weather - When to visit
We were warned, we’d probably experience every season in one day, whilst in the Scottish Highlands, and it’s definitely true, with rain, strong winds, yet glorious warm sunshine when it did appear. We decided to visit the Scottish Highlands in the October half-term break, where we were greeted with a spectacular landscape, alive with vibrant autumn colours and rich foliage. Despite the weather being a bit more temperamental at this time of year, compared to the summer months, we actually didn’t mind the odd rain shower, with the added bonus of there being no midges, a definite downside of venturing to the highlands in the summer months from June to August, even if the weather is warmer. Spring is another lovely time to visit, from March to June, with days warming up and landscapes and nature rejuvenating after winter.
Views over the three sisters at Glen Coe
Where we stayed
Hayfield Lodge, located in Invergarry, was our base for the week, and this place was perfect. This rather unusual accommodation, being a triangular Scandinavian-style wooden lodge, was set right on the edge of Loch Rich, which gave the best views to wake up to, and really helped to make our stay feel like a secluded retreat in the heart of nature. Fort William, known as the outdoor capital of the UK was a handy 30-minute drive away, which offered tons of great walks, and 30 minutes in the opposite direction were Fort Augustus and Loch Ness, for those boat rides to hunt for Nessy.
Things to do in the Scottish Highlands
Fort William
Known as the UK’s outdoor capital, Fort William offers families the perfect base to explore the Highlands and get stuck into outdoor adventure activities, with some incredible walks and experiences, in the presence of the UK’s highest mountain Ben Nevis. It’s the largest town in the Highlands, positioned on the edge of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eli and is an interesting place to take a stroll, with a good range of shops, from the smaller independent stores that line its main quaint high street, to the larger chain stores around the town. There’s a good range of eateries to choose from and a handful of in-town activities to keep the kids entertained, especially on those rainy days, which we’ve included below:
Three Wise Monkeys Climbing Centre
Set in a revamped old church, this rock climbing centre offers both indoor rope climbing and bouldering for adults and children. We opted for an instructor-led session for Carmen, which she loved, whilst the rest of us enjoyed their cafe, which overlooks the climbing wall.
Nevis Centre:
Spectrum Softplay
The Nevis Centre offers a brilliant soft play for kids to burn off some steam, with lots of exciting play equipment, from towers to climb up, slides, bridges, swinging ropes and a ball pit. There’s also a separate area for babies and toddlers, with smaller slides, a bouncy castle and toys to play with
10-Pin Bowling
Within the same Nevis Centre, you’ll find an 8-lane bowling alley, perfect for entertaining the whole family. They've also got a few arcade-style machines surrounding the bowling lanes, which our kids enjoyed playing on.
Steall Falls and the Nevis Gorge
This two-mile hike has earned itself the reputation of being one of Scotland's best short walks, and we have to agree, it’s such a worthwhile hike, we’d highly recommend it, especially with children. The best place to park is at the Nevis Gorge car park, which can be found a little further after the visitor centre, at the very end of the road. Follow the trail that slowly ascends through woodland, running next to the gorge, taking extra care on any slippery rocks and holding little ones’ hands as the climb gets steeper.
Before you know it, you will emerge out into a meadow with the most beautiful views, surrounded by mountains. Take a walk through the valley, following the gorge, and when you meander around the bend, the epic Steall Falls will come into view, which cascades down the side of the mountain, being one of Scotland's highest waterfalls. Once at the end of the valley, anyone tall enough and brave enough can attempt to cross the wire bridge, which spans across the gorge.
Let’s just be completely honest here, J got across no problem, as he is tall, with long limbs, but I on the other hand at only 5.2 really struggled. I got halfway across, to realise the wire handrails were getting so far apart, it was getting near impossible to hold on to them. Finally realising I couldn’t carry on across, or even turn around 180° on the bridge, I had to shuffle backwards the way I had come, hoping I wouldn’t slip! All ended well thankfully, but it was rather stressful, and anyone wanting to cross the wire bridge, should bear this in mind. Despite the hiccup, this walk is undoubtedly one of our favourite walks with kids, due to it not being overly challenging and the views are to die for!
Loch Linnhe boat ride
Get out onto the water and enjoy a boat ride on Loch Linnhe, with the opportunity to see views of the mighty Ben Nevis, along with several other viewpoints. One that our kids loved was Black Rock, also known as Seal Island, home to Atlantic Grey seals, which can be seen enjoying their natural habitat. Passengers will also be on the lookout for porpoises, which although we sadly didn’t see, are apparently sighted regularly in the loch.
Neptune’s Staircase
Britain's longest canal lock staircase located near Fort William will be a fascinating visit for some adults and children, where you can watch boats gradually making their way through the 8 locks in total. It can take up to 90 minutes for each boat to progress through the system, so take your time and grab an ice cream for good measure, from one of the ice cream parlours nearby.
Neptune’s Staircase
Nevis Range
This family-friendly outdoor activity centre, based 7 miles from Fort William has a range of experiences that everyone will love to get involved in:
Mountain Gondola
Taking visitors 650m up Aonach Mòr, this gondola is not only for snow sports enthusiasts to get them to the top of the piste but also a fantastic experience for those looking to embrace the views from the eighth-highest mountain in Britain.
Snow Sports
If visiting in the winter months, from late December to April, why not try skiing and snowboarding, with the option to enrol beginners, including children into ski and snowboard school.
Mountain Biking
There is a range of different trails, depending on cycling ability, with lower trails perfect for the whole family, even newbies on balance bikes, to more advanced downhill trails coming down from the top of the gondola drop-off point. Similarly to snow sports there, they offer the option of biking school or private one-to-one lessons.
Nevis range mountain biking
Glenfinnan Viaduct
Harry Potter fans pay attention! You’re not going to want to miss a visit to the official viaduct bridge from the movie, you know, the one that Harry and Ron’s flying car whizzes around when trying to catch up with the Hogwarts Express! The train, officially known as the Jacobite, can be seen crossing the 30m high viaduct bridge four times a day, when it journeys from Fort William to Mallaig, and back again. The best views of the train are on its outbound journey from Fort William when it crosses the bridge at 10:50 am and 13:20 pm.
It’s around a 15-20 minute walk from the car park to the viewing spot, which is on a hillside overlooking the viaduct, so make sure you leave enough time to get there before the train arrives, we’d suggest giving yourself 30 minutes from parking up. Once in position, there's real anticipation waiting for the train to emerge around the corner, and it’s so exciting spotting the rising steam and hearing the toot from the engine!
Watching the train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct
The Jacobite Steam Train (Hogwarts Express)
There’s also the option to actually ride on the Jacobite steam train or Hogwarts Express, but tickets need to be booked well in advance, as they sell out quickly and are rather expensive. Another option which we think is worth considering is booking onto a normal train as opposed to the steam train, which follows the exact same tracks, past the same scenery, but is a fraction of the price.
Loch Shiel
On the doorstep of the Glenfinnan Viaduct is Loch Shiel, the famous ‘Black Lake’ out of Harry Potter. This place was the base for the underwater scenes of the Triwizard Tournament from the Goblet of Fire, along with the scene of Harry riding over the water on Buckbeak's back. The best viewpoint of the loch is from the Glenfinnan Monument, only a 10-minute walk from the Glenfinnan car park, which offers stunning views.
Views over Loch Shiel
The Dragonfly Trail
Whilst you are in the Glenfinnan area, you should explore the Dragonfly Trail, a short walk on wooden boards, which goes through some beautiful scenery. It meanders to begin with through woodland, surrounded by rich vegetation and lots of nature and also offers lovely views over Loch Shiel at the end of the walk.
The Lost Valley, Glencoe
There is something magical about this magnificent area of the Highlands, home to the 3 impressive mountains found side by side in Glen Coe, known as ‘The Three Sisters. A high elevated valley here at 335m, known as Coire Gabhail, or The Lost Valley, is where the MacDonalds reportedly hid their stolen cattle, and getting there makes for an exhilarating hike.
Follow the gorge that meanders up the side of the mountain, with a steep ascent, thin paths in places running next to the gorge, and scrambling over large boulders near the top. We did this walk with both our kids, the youngest being two at the time, who we were able to carry in our baby carrier at the most difficult parts, and our 7-year-old, who was perfectly fine with the more challenging areas and loved the exciting scrambling. However, any child too big to be carried, yet too young to be responsible enough to keep away from the steep drops next to the gorge, should wait until they are a bit older before tackling this.
During the walk, around halfway up, there is a place to cross the stream, using stepping stones. We did the walk after there had previously been quite a bit of rain, so unfortunately the stream was slightly deeper, and the stepping stones which are normally dry and visible had been partially submerged. You’ve either got the option to remove your shoes and socks to walk across (knee deep/ not fast flowing, but rocks can be slippy) or take one for the team and walk across in your shoes (as I chose to do). My snow boots were completely soaked and so heavy afterwards, however, I was able to help everyone else across the stepping stones, holding their arms. Don’t let this put you off, it was in fact a right giggle and I’d definitely do it again.
Clachaig Inn Restaurant
This lovely Inn/ restaurant, located in the Glen Coe pass, is the perfect stop-off for lunch with the family after a hike. Not only are the views great, surrounded by mountains, but the food is delicious, offering meat, vegan and vegetarian dishes, and there’s also a play area, making it perfect for kids.
Loch Ness
Every child will have no doubts heard of the Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, so a boat trip to go and hunt for the mysterious creature will be an experience to remember! Our kids packed their binoculars, boarded the boat with a real sense of excitement and spent the entire time on board meticulously scanning the water for movement and any dark shapes, which they were adamant they saw! We’d recommend buying a children's book about the Loch Ness monster, so kids can learn all about her before going on the boat ride.
Boat ride on Loch ness
Allt na Calliche Trail
Due to us staying in Invergarry when we visited the Highlands, this short 1.5-hour walk in the area was lovely with kids and even the rain didn’t put us off. The trail follows a stream initially, which soon merges into a scenic forest, with moss-covered rocks, small wooden bridges and a lovely waterfall. We parked our car in the Ciste Dubh Forestry car park, which was near to the start of the trail.
Ally na Calliche Trail
