Summer half term we are contemplating going away as a family of 4. My kids have never been to Scotland. I think my son (and hopefully daughter)and I will enjoy a couple of the local trail centres.

We are looking at staying at the log cabins at Sandyhills

link

Is the area OK for a family holiday as this isn’t a dedicated cycling holiday. It would be nice to do some of:

walking (Coastal or hilly)
beach stuff
ruins
general hanging out
water sports

I don’t think we are particuclarly hard to please and have enhoyed lots of different bits of Wales and the Lakes.

I know Scotland gets more dramatic as you go further north but i don’t think we want to drive to far as we are coming from Bedfordshire.

Any thoughts

Aye, Great area!. Try and fit in a night or two at the gorsebank wigwams, brilliant!, fire, bbq, gorgeous secluded setting and 200 metres by singletrack path from the Dalbeattie trail proper!. The kids will love it.

Oakwood or Ashwood lodge at Clifton Farm at Southwick near Sandyhills is great.

walking 2

walking

wet days

watersports

Ruin 1

Ruin 2

http://www.drumlanrig.com/

Beach stuff;
Sandyhills and Southerness with it`s lighthouse are the 2 main beaches that locals flock to when the sun shines. Only thing to watch out for are the fast flowing tides.

Walking-coastal;

This is the seaside walk from Sandyhills, Portling to Castle Point, Rockcliffe(cafe) and on to Kipford and return via Dalbeattie forest walk via Colvend(cafe/restruant)to Sandyhills. Fair hike mind so check bus times(if any!!)

Could go on all night!!!

We’ve stayed at Sandyhills many times as a family and had a great time, it’s a lovely part of the world.

You can ride into Dalbeattie forest (10 mins) from Sandyhills and Mabie is just down the road, 20 mins by car.

Have a look at Glentrool + Galloway Forest Park
biking and forest drives
Loch Ken does sailing etc stuff
http://www.lochken.co.uk/

Southern Upland way

Kirkcudbright is an ‘artists’ village

They built some Mulberry harbours at Gairlieston (nothing left), I’ve always found pub on front is a ‘warm’ place )it is a bit down market but friendly with good grub)

If you want a drive Dunure is a lovely old (tiny) fishing town with castle, cafe and pub. and the Electric Brae might amise the kids, it really is quite weird. Do it heading S before laybay on lhs, use mirror and put hazards on, stop car, brakes off,it WILL roll uphill …. :>)

Thanks folks sounds great

I’ll look at the links and take it from there

trekster the photo and triangular castle look amazing….

Kirroughtree

Clatteringshaws

wigtown is a “book town”

Moffat has a boating pond as does Castle Douglas if kids are small

For wildlife; http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/caerlaverock

Just spend some time with google to find loads of stuff.

trekster the photo

On a day like that it is very nice. There are veiws across the Solwat to the Lakes, back`o Skidaw and Robin Rigg wind farm is out there to.

You can get down onto the beach at some places, there are lots of little coves. Best place to access the path is from Rockcliffe to Castle Point.

triangular castle look amazing

My playground when I was a kid 😆

Stayed at Sandyhills 3 times now,plenty space and a great holiday base.

Great part of the country been there for the past few years

Go watch the feeding of the Kites at

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Loch Ken has lots to do, The marina has waterskiing and wakeboarding, with ringos and banana boat rides for the kids etc, We’ve been taking our ski boat up there for 6 years now. waterskiing at the marina

loch Ken marina

contact details

It’s fantastic for a family holiday, we’ve been a few times. Camped at the campsite just outside Dalbeattie to the North and also at Sandyhills.

Area is brilliant. The beach at Sandyhills is great – when the tide goes out, you can’t even see the sea it’s that far away.

Mabie Farm Park is pure magic, farm animals, giant inflatable pillow thing, rides, etc.

Cream o’ Galloway ice cream visitor centre, numyum.

Caerlaverock castle and Sweetheart Abbey (and nearby working old mill) are topnotch for the ruin count, and there’s nearby RSPB reserve.

We love it down there, everytime we’ve been it’s been a great holiday and a chance to just chill out and enjoy everything.

Great place to go, lots to do as listed above. Drumlanrig, Burns museums good options if it rains, otherwise the countryside is your oyster. If the forum database gets back to normal there were lots of other recommendations on this thread when I asked for similar advice.

I stayed at the barend cabins last year with young kids and plan to go back. Indoor pool and pub onsite, decent sandy beach in walking distance, pond with free fishing, stables over the road (£5 for a kiddy ride), decent biking nearby (from your door if you want) – lots of good stuff to fill a week.

Oh, and some weird green glowing trees by the pond! I think it must have been glowworms or some similar bugs. Highly recommended.

I’m impressed with the level of enthusiasm all round

We’ll look at booking tomorrow

aviation museum
Just along the road from me.
There is some good biking in the small forest just across the road from here which joins the Sustrans Caledonian Cycle Path into and beyond Dumfries, ideal for the kids.

If you can get a day away from the family for some biking give me a shout and I will take you on the “local” tour of Mabie or Dalbeattie. SO could spend time at Mabie farm park with kids if you choose Mabie 😉

We stayed here Oakwood and found it to be rather good. Close to Dalbeattie and other Stanes. Plenty non-biking stuff to do too.

From the link^^^^^

Beautiful but overlooked, Dumfries and Galloway is a forgotten corner of Scotland offering stunning scenery, a slower pace of life and welcoming locals.

😆

Think about going further along the coast from Sandyhills.
There’s a caravan/campsite at Kippford, or near Rockcliffe (Castle Point/Barcloy Rd). Beaches here are smaller and less busy and the coastline is more interesting. Good pub in Kippford too.
Mail me if you fancy a 3 bed house in Kippford instead of the log cabin.

John Paul Jones cottage

Just along from here is a cracking little rocky beach @ Powillimount

Use this and Kirkbean or Southerness as a search destination, scroll along the shore line;
OS Get a Map

Blue route at Kirroughtree is brilliant. First time one of my daughters smiled that ‘I get it’ smile on a mountain bike ride.

We have stayed here for the last two summer half terms http://www.farhills.co.uk/

The owner is really nice, lets the kids help on the farm and the house is about a mile from a really nice bit of coast. central for Mabie, Dalbeattie and Kirroughtree.

Lots of other things to do in the area, the ice cream factory is a good day out and not too expensive.

A simply wonderful area. Spent 13 great years in Castle Douglas and only moved to Fife for work. You can’t go wrong with so much to do for the family in addition to wondrous mountain biking.

The whole area is cracking – I live in Stranraer but still go camping around Kirkudbright/Dalbeattie every year.

There is a little zoo/animal park at Kirkudbright that is worth a visit if you have young kids and you can easily spend a whole day at Mabie farm park. There is also a chocolate factory nearby where the kids get to make some chocolate (haven’t been since it moved to a bigger site though).

On top of all this, there is also great mountain biking !

We stayed at a campsite called Solway View last year and it was great – each pitch had its own fire pit and pick nick table – only downside being you need to be a member of the Camping and Caravan club.

We’ve stayed at Sandhills before too – the log cabins you looked at are a different site though – they are about half a mile from the beach and up a hill (that’s where the pub was!)

those log cabins at Barend are brilliant. We’ve been there a few times now and can’t recommend them enough.
The location really is spot-on.

Again thanks for all the enthusiasm

trekster I’ll do a fitness review nearer the time the time and may be in touch. My son is reasonably capable but at a trail centre. He did 17km at Coed y Brenin and half of Penmacno in the autumn.

climbingcragrat

assuming your name isn’t random. Is there any climbing in the area. Again family biased so say diff to severe with good protection.

oh, and don’t ride all the way along the road from Barend to the Dalbeattie trails. If you look at the map you can sneak along a little path on the eastern side of Dalbeattie forest and join the red route near the slab 😉

or ride along the main road a bit and ride up the track at the side of the post office/village store.

You can ride up the road from Sandyhills towards Colvend past the golf club, and turn down the farm track on the right, sign at the end says New Barns, ride past the archaeological dig on your left. A few hundred metres along the track goes right, in front of you is a gate into the forest, go through follow the path which soon comes out on the Dalbeattie Red route. Thats the way I normally go in.

Is there any climbing in the area

The rocks at Powillimount are used for climbing/abseiling by various groups. Know a couple of guys who climb, will ask.

There is a topo somewhere (i once saw a link from UK climbing). The crags were further west, small and looked cack.

This guy and his wife know their stuff
facebook page

cheers trekster good link

Not done any climbing round there, I have seen an outdoor climbing wall at the activity centre linked to above^ by Trekster, I think it was reasonably big but can’t recall for sure.

Climbing – Clifton is good, if a bit overgrown at the base.
Thirlstane is great with kids – at the beach and good bouldering.
See Treksters link (crag index)