There are so many things to do with children in Dumfries and Galloway in the summer holidays. Here’s Corsewall Estate Holiday Cottages’ top five picks for the season.
1. Book in for ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ at Castle Kennedy Gardens on Tuesday, 15th July. Every year the Gardens host a wonderful outdoor theatre production. It’s highly entertaining and a fun evening out with the children. Don’t forget to take a picnic, some chairs and a travel rug or two.
2. Take a picnic to Threave Castle. It’s a lovely walk round to the river where you ring the bell for a boat to collect you and take you over the river to the island where the medieval castle stands. On the way back, do pay a visit to the Osprey viewing platform and you are sure to see the ospreys’ nest. There is usually a ranger or volunteer on hand to help with spotting.
3. Head for the beach. Provided you go at low tide, the beaches at Killantringan and Larbrax are so special. A sandy strip on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway, they provide a quiet haven for children armed with buckets and spades. There’s a cave, rock pools, streams to dam and acres of sand to enjoy. With the cliffs you could be forgiven for thinking you are in Cornwall – but without all the crowds.
4. The Cream O Galloway visitor centre is huge fun with a tribe of children. Our children love the go-karts and the zip wire and new for summer 2015 is the ‘Go Boing’ attraction – a suspended aerial netted play area – where you can bounce, crawl, roll or jump – anything goes really. Top tip – take a freezer bag and some cool blocks to take a tub or two back to base camp to enjoy in the evening. The vanilla goes very well with strawberries and cream!
5. For an exhilarating ride, book in for one of Europe’s longest zip wires at Laggan Outdoor at Gatehouse of Fleet. A double zip line spanning 820 metres means you can ride in tandem and share the breath-taking experience.
Of course there are lots of excellent accommodation providers in the area, but I can highly recommend a wonderful spot – offering peace and tranquillity and lots for the children to do outside – Corsewall Estate Holiday Cottages! We still have two weeks available during the summer holidays – one week at High Clachan Farmhouse, which sleeps 8, from 5-12 July at an all inclusive price of £995 and a week at Garden Cottage, which sleeps 6, from 30 August – 6 September, at an all inclusive price of £795 per week. You can walk to the beach from both houses and there’s a giant trampoline, a great climbing frame with a look out post, a pretty wendy house, the option to set up camp in the woods and acres of lawns with grassy banks for rolling down – what more could you want from a summer holiday?