Things To Do

Strathaven Castle is the perfect place for history buffs to soak up some Scottish history. Believed to have been built around 1350, the first recorded castle was a wooden structure that was replaced some 100 years later by a stone castle. The site is so steeped in history that it has been given nationally important ancient monument status, given protection against unauthorised change.

This annual international hot air ballooning extravaganza is something that you don’t want to miss if your visiting Strathaven in August. The event is the only one of its kind in Scotland, offering families the opportunity to witness take off in mass. The festival now attracts pilots and visitors from all over Europe with over 30,000 spectators attending over the weekend. The event is  classed as one of the top 3 balloon festivals in the UK amongst balloon pilots.

Weather permitting, spectators are also invited to watch the ‘Evening Glow’, where balloonists take to the skies to create a magical scene of light and colour at night. There is also a fun fair, stalls, classic vehicles and other evening events.

Scottish gala days have been a celebrated tradition for hundreds of years and, for many, are still one of the most anticipated days of the year. Strathaven’s gala day is no exception, with celebrations including music in the Common Green, a lunchtime parade to mark the new town gala queen and afternoon stalls, games, fun and entertainment.

Whether you want to lane swim on your lunch break to stay fit, take your kids for a fun splash, or you just fancy a quick dip, Strathaven Leisure Centre's 20 metre swimming pool provides a safe, spacious swimming environment for you.

If you want to take young children swimming, the pool has a shallow end which is ideal for this purpose.

Various activities include adult and child sessions, lane swimming, adult only sessions, aquafit classes and pool birthday parties. Swimming lessons are available at Strathaven Leisure Centre.

Want to check out waterfalls in Scotland without heading too far North? A short walk from our bustling market town of Strathaven, you will find the Spectacle E’e (eye) waterfalls. The falls are a peaceful place to enjoy a picnic and step back into nature.

Soft play centre with role play rooms, sensory room: no bookings required, food & snacks available, suitable for age 8 or less. 

Address: Udstonmill Road, Stonehouse, United Kingdom, ML93FL. Phone 07523 192404

Beautiful café and gift shop to relax with family and friends. Serves: hot / cold drinks, cakes, breakfast, filled rolls, light bites & salads, sandwiches, toasties & paninis, soup, main meals, burgers, pizzas, gluten free, vegan.

Address: Udstonmill Road, Stonehouse, United Kingdom, ML93FL. Phone 07523 192404

The centre opened in Summer 2021, with a vast wealth of knowledge in the equestrian industry, the centre strives to be one of Scotland’s top equestrian venues for training and education. With both indoor and outdoor arenas, they have the facilities to enjoy the training all year round. The academy has some of the UK’s best trainers pre-booked for the year ahead. 

From Beginners to Advanced - Having a vast range of horse and ponies, they are able to provide the best training possible to our clients. Having access to a variety of horses and ponies allows them to progress riders on ensuring they reach their full potential.

Looking for a little adventure? Strathaven Airfield give you the opportunity to take the controls on your very own flying lesson and enjoy Scotland’s amazing views from the air! The three-runway grass airfield is home to more than 30 aircraft and microlights and has its very own flying school. Prefer to keep your feet firmly on the ground? Take along picnic and settle down to watch the planes as they take off.

As seen on TV! The "Airfield House"  featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs. The aluminium-clad house is a private home for the airfield manager and family, but there are limited visits organised. Find information and photos of the house under construction and being filmed with presenter Kevin McCloud and architect Richard Murphy, here.

Just a short drive from Strathaven town centre, this is a nice place to enjoy afternoon tea and relax. It is one of the U.K biggest Antique Centres which has s had some major refurbishment work carried out and the team have a lot of new additions. Why not take your old treasure for an evaluation? 

There is also a book shop, card shop and a selection of outdoor and indoor gardening furniture and plants. If you are into gardening or antiques, then this is a great place to spend an afternoon.

The national Museum of Rural life invites you to roll up your sleeves and get hands on as you explore and discover what life on a working farm has been like over the years.

Just 9 miles north of Strathaven, Chatelherault Country Park has 500 acres of countryside and woodland and pathways, offering breath-taking views for miles. With picnic stops and sites looking across Ben Lomond and Campsie Hills, the park’s 10 miles of routed paths and walkways have something to impress everyone.

Calderglen Country Park has a children's zoo, tropical glasshouse, ornamental gardens, nature trails, adventure & toddler Play areas, Gift shop, Cafe, exhibition gallery, Golf Course and a whole lot more.

Zoo: A day at Calderglen Zoo will allow you and your family to discover a range of exotic and endangered animals including Owls, Marmosets, Wallabies and the ever popular and watchful Meerkats.

Nature Trails: There are over eight miles of nature trails at Calderglen. where nature lovers and ramblers alike can enjoy a walk through the woods or along the banks of the River Calder.

Conservatory / Gardens: Take a break from the weather and visit the Conservatory with its tropical displays of plants from around the world and an Ornamental Garden, a must see especially for any keen gardener.

Play area: For younger children we have a dedicated play area, while for older children the more demanding adventure play area will provide hours of fun for all children.

Strathclyde Country Park is an iconic North Lanarkshire Country park which lies in 400 hectares of countryside in the valley of the River Clyde. Set within beautiful surroundings the park is one of the most popular family attractions in the central belt of Scotland, with thousands of visitors coming each year to the park in order to enjoy the vast range of activities and events on offer.

The park has many amenities and attractions to offer hosting many events throughout the year including; international rowing competitions, music festivals, fireworks events, guided nature walks and various club activities. Ideally situated, with excellent road and public transport links this visitor attraction offers; outdoor adventure playgrounds, bike hire, fitness gym, watersports centre with cafe, conference facilities and watersports activities including our popular Funboats and watersports courses.

On the water:  Strathclyde Country Park is an internationally renowned Watersports area based on the excellent facilities of the Watersports Centre and Strathclyde Loch. They are a licensed outdoor activity centre and cater for water activities for both family fun and for the enthusiast.

Family fun: Why don't you bring the kids along to the park to enjoy their popular great valued Funboats On the loch they have; bumper boats, pedalos, Canadian canoes, ocean kayaks, speedboat trips and waterwalkerz - all of which are sure to keep the kids amused. They also offer a great valued '5 Activity Wristband' for both adults and children allowing for hours of fun on their pedalos, bumper boats, Canadian canoes, kayaks and speedboat trip.

For the enthusiast: They cater for the following watersport activities at the park; rowing, sailing, kayaking, powerboat handling and windsurfing. Craft are available to hire, or you may bring your own if you prefer. Interested in undertaking a watersports course? They have their own watersports instructor who can provide his expertise in the necessary skills, all in accordance with the standards laid down by the sports' national governing bodies. They offer courses in; sailing, kayaking, powerboat handling and windsurfing.

This indoor tropical rainforest with over 70 different species is themed on the Amazon rainforest in South America. Experience free flying butterflies above your head, catching your eye with their dazzling colour and hold frogs, snakes and lizards in the handling room.

In the nocturnal area see if you can spot the bats, kinkajou, tarantulas and more before becoming digitally transported into the amazon rainforest where you can reach out and touch monkeys, leaf cutter ants and toucans in Amazonia Interactive!

Summerlee is set in 22 acres based around the site of the nineteenth century Summerlee Ironwork. The museum has many attractions for all the family including Scotland's only electric tramway, sympathetically recreated mine and miners' cottages, cool adventure playpark and lots lots more. There is also a less physical play area, complete with dressing up box so they can become a period housewife or miner for a bit, if they like! Summerlee operates an electric tramway on over half a kilometre of track. Several nice shiny trams are operational on a daily basis including one from Austria and one from Belgium, and they have all been lovingly restored for you.

Open the door to Glasgow’s rich past at the Riverside Museum. This multi-award winning museum is home to over 3,000 objects that tell the story of Glasgow’s history from its days as a maritime ‘powerhouse’ to the daily lives of those that lived there in the early-mid twentieth century. The objects on display are wide and varied – transport is covered with cars, bicycles, trams and locomotives. There are paintings to prams, skateboards to stormtroopers and everything in-between!

There are 150 interactive displays to help you to discover what life was really like. Walk the Glasgow street scene and tour the shops where you can look at fashion and merchandise. The screens, films and images will help to add another dimension to your wander down memory lane. Children will enjoy the Global Treasure Hunt, which is available to download and usable with the museum’s free Wi-Fi, or seek out Riverside’s Hidden Stories!

The Peoples Palace is set in historic Glasgow Green, tells the story of the people and city of Glasgow from 1750 to the end of the 20th century. Explore the city's locial history through a wealth of historic artefacts, paintings, prints and photographs, film and interactive computer displays. Get a wonderful insight into how Glaswegians lived, worked and played in years gone by.In the adjacent Winter Gardens you can wander among the exotic palms and plants or enjoy a coffee or lunch at the cafe. Outside, you can admire the restored Doulton Fountain and relax in the attractive surroundings of Glasgow Green, the oldest public space in Glasgow.

Take an educational trip to Lanark World Heritage Site - a fully restored 18th-century cotton mill village, open for you to explore.  A UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Lanark is also an ideal spot for wildlife watching and woodland walks with the family, especially since it is the gateway to the famous Falls of Clyde.

Learn the story of New Lanark village at the New Lanark Visitor Centre. Find out about the fascinating Robert Owen - a social pioneer who provided better life for everyone - from better homes, to fair wages and free health care. He even built the first workplace nursery school in the world! It’s interesting for the kids to visit Owen’s school rooms and compare how those match-up to their own modern day schools.

If that’s not enough to bring New Lanark to life, travel back in time with the Annie Mcleod Experience dark ride, featuring a mill girl who tells the story of her life and what it was like in 1820. Kids will have the chance to get involved and dress up as schoolchildren from Annie's time. An interactive gallery then provides multisensory experience of colour sound and light to make the visit even more memorable.

Fancy a view of the whole village from above? Go up to the Roof Garden and viewing platform, which has over 70 different plants, animal sculptures and a water feature.

Take to the seas in grand splendour on a Waverley Excursion. Ride on the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world, which has been fully restored to bring it back to all its glory with huge, towering funnels, clean timber decks, brass so clean you can see your reflection in it and a mighty engine that rumbles beneath your feet as it roars to life. There are several different excursions on offer from exploring the lochs and islands of Scotland to spending the day at the seaside in Devon.

On-board you’ll find lots of different eating options, a whisky bar and a tearoom so you can dine in style as you soak up the nostalgia on this beautiful vessel.

There are over 400 interactive exhibits at The Glasgow Science Centre to boggle, bemuse and offer a whole lot of learning! Welcome to the new frontier of discovery where technically minded tykes can work as an electronic engineer for the day in fun-packed workshops. Head up to the digital fulldome planetarium to listen to the legend himself - Buzz Lightyear - fill you in on all there is to know about the Moon. In the Science Mall, kids can accustom themselves with the issues of our time by learning about renewable energy, as well as making wind-powered cars. You can take in a 3D wonder at Scotland’s biggest IMAX screen, from the ‘Space Station’ to ‘Under the Sea’. Then polish it all off with a trek up the Glasgow Tower - 127 metres high in the sky!

Do not miss the mind-bending Science Show Theatre. Here the resident team of geniuses dazzle and dizzy with an array of experiments. It’s a sure way to inspire the curious minds of tomorrow, because who knows what your children will grow up to achieve?

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has been a Glasgow favourite since 1901, with 22 themed galleries and an incredible 8,000 objects to explore! It’s a sure winner for rainy days. Begin your immersive education with some prehistoric remains, a spooky Nakht coffin or their suspended Spitfire. Then explore the art world via the Dutch Masters or through the lens of surrealist and moustache enthusiast, Salvador Dali. A recent must-see is the reopened Life Gallery. It celebrates nature by looking at the amazing pilgrimage of leatherback turtles, the tale of flightless birds from Australasia and lots more. 

Snow Factor is Scotland's only indoor REAL SNOW slope and leading centre for ski and snowboard instruction. Open 364 days a year, our children learn in the perfect environment to progress their skills: no wind, no rain, and smaller classes ensure that they have fun, stay safe and receive the very best instruction.

Once you have made it through each skill level, you are ready to leave our dedicated nursery slope and enjoy the UK's longest indoor real snow slope (168m long). For those looking to advance their existing skills, you can train for speed in Snow Factor Race Training or ride rails and kill those kickers in Freestyle Academy.

Located within Soar INTU Braehead, we are within 10 minutes' drive from the Kingston bridge and 20 minutes from Erksine Bridge, Snow Factor is the ideal destination for a fun filled family day out.

For those of you looking for no skills, just thrills, we offer fun filled sessions on the dedicated sledging slope and exciting ice slide. You are guaranteed TONS of fun at Snow Factor.

The Glasgow Botanic Gardens is known internationally for its impressive glass houses and extensive tropical and temperate plant collections from around the world. You can find the quite adorable and thoroughly informative Children's Garden in the Old Nursery within The Botanic Gardens. There is also a great adventure playground and a variety of themes of horticultural and botanical interest are found in the grounds. 

Gifted to the people of Paisley by Thomas Coats and designed by Glasgow Architect John Honeyman, Coats Observatory opened in 188 and has been welcoming everyone with an interest in astronomy ever since.

During the winter months, the observatory is open for night sky telescope viewing depending on the weather. The Observatory has recently installed a state-of-the-art Planetarium, which can project thousands of stars in an accurate representation of the night sky highlighting constellations and zooming in on objects too faint to be seen except through a powerful telescope.

A trip to Falkirk Wheel should be on every day out “to do list”. With endless activities on offer, this outdoor adventure is certain to keep everyone entertained.

Sail the waters on a boat trip that takes you from The Falkirk Wheel to join the Union Canal. Take in the sites with windows all around and see what your little ones can discover. Kids can run wild in the activity zone and scramble up ladders, slither down slides and crawl over rope bridges. For more water fun, head to the splashing water park and play with boats, dripping taps, and lots of cool water.

For something a little drier, there are walking trails too. Perfect for splashing in puddles or crunching in orange leaves dependant on the weather of course! Take a segway tour around the site, and do something "wheely" fun. Dry off and take home some memorabilia from the gift shop, or refuel with something delicious from the cafe.

Stirling Castle is, without doubt, one of the grandest of all Scottish castles, both in its situation on a commanding rock outcrop and in its architecture. The Great Hall and the Gatehouse of James IV, the marvellous Palace of James V, the Chapel Royal of James VI and the artillery fortifications of the 16th to 18th centuries are all of outstanding interest.

All apartments in the castle are accessible apart from the Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Only the medieval kitchens and Elphinstone Tower are not suitable for visitors using push or wheelchairs. The ground floor of the shop and the book shop are accessible. The castle cafe has a ramp. Braille information boards are on display.

Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park is a great day out for the family. Kids can enjoy getting their faces painted and will love the brand new adventure playground facilities from March 2016 onwards! The old Fun Fort has been replaced over the winter with a splendid new one just waiting to be explored! All new features will delight kids of all ages!

There is a boat trip to chimp island, exciting and educational sea lion and bird of prey demonstrations. There is a giant astraglide, flying fox and pedal boats.

Walking through the pets arm area you can get up close and personal with all the friendly animals. Driving through the game reserve you will get up close with bison, rhinos and lions to name but a few. Don't forget the elephants, giraffes, zebra, meerkats, bears, penguins, lemurs and much more. There are also regular keeper talks at the meerkats, penguins, and other enclosures.

The Kelpies, located in Falkirk, Scotland tower a colossal 30 metres above the Forth and Clyde Canal and form a dramatic gateway to the canal entrance on the East Coast of Scotland. Created by Scotland's leading sculptor Andy Scott, The Kelpies are a monument to horse powered heritage across Central Scotland.

Come and see the world's largest equine sculptures up close - and even go inside to marvel at the complexity and the engineering which created these fantastic pieces of art.

The Kelpies are located in the heart of Helix Park – 350 hectares of recreational green land complete with Visitor Centre which includes a cafe,gift shop and exhbition space, adventure play park, splash play fountains, lagoon and miles of cycle paths.

Climb the tower- warning there are a lot of steps!- and see the views from the top. On the way up, you can trace the story of William Wallace, see his mighty broadsword, and listen in on his trial. The battles and stories are brought alive though live performances by costumed actors at weekends.

Around the monument there are nature trails and plenty of open space. And, there could be something to tempt you in the Gift Shop or Cafe.

Take a peek into life deep underwater at Deep Sea World - Scotland's national aquarium. Located beneath the world-famous Forth Rail Bridge, it’s home to over 2,000 creatures - ranging from seahorses and stingrays, to seals and sharks. This award-winning aquarium will take you on a journey of discovery through the planet's rivers, lakes and oceans. See one of Europe's largest collections of sharks at the incredible 4.5 million litre Underwater Safari - the longest underwater tunnel in the UK. Be sure to catch the daily dive and feeding shows and watch the divers as they feed the sharks.

Edinburgh Castle dominates the city of Edinburgh. Over 1,000 years of history sit on top of the famous Edinburgh rock, and it is easy to see why it has over a million visitors a year!

Throughout the year you may visit the Battlements, Great Hall, Royal Apartments, Crown Room, and the 900 year old St Margaret's Chapel. When you delve into the depths below the Queen Anne Building and Great Hall, you will discover 2 tiers of cavernous stone vaults that were used as prisons during war for many years, with prisoners from all over the world being kept there. Other highlights include the Stone of Destiny in the Crown Room, which has been part of the coronation ceremonies for most monarch of England, and later Great Britain for hundreds of years, plus the oldest crown jewels in the British Isles!

The iconic Mons Meg cannon, probably one of the most famous medieval cannon in the World, is fired at one o'clock Monday to Saturday (except when removed for essential maintenance), so check your watch and cover your ears! The castle is home to the National War Museum, which allows you to discover 400 years of Scotland at war through military artefacts, treasured collections, and more. There are also 2 independent regimental museums based at the castle, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum in the New Barracks, and the Royal Scots Museum in the Drill Hall opposite. Both tell the story of 2 of the oldest regiments in Scotland, through memorabilia, personal accounts, artwork, and numerous other items.