With it being the summer holidays here in Scotland, we’ve been trying to fit in some fun days out. Places we’ve not been or not been to for years. Something that isn’t expensive, as let’s face it, it’s coming to the end of the holidays and we’ve all spent way more than we’d budgeted for. So when ScotRail asked us to try out their Glasgow City Days Out Pass, we thought this would be a great adventure for us to go on. The ScotRail Glasgow Days Out Pass allows you to hop off and one trains for two days of unlimited off-peak travel within the City Days Out Map. This is pretty much anywhere within an hour of Glasgow.
On day one we got up, got ready and hopped on the train into Glasgow Central, where we started our two day train adventure. Glasgow central is a huge station and the main one in the Glasgow area. The architecture is beautiful and it’s a full on bustling train station. Great for the kids to see and add to the excitement. There are a lot of departure boards for you to see exactly what is going on and what platform you want to be on. We didn’t have a lot of time to wait and headed for our train to start our train adventure.
Being on a train adds to the excitement. We are so used to travelling by car, that this is a novelty. There was not one bit of “Are we there yet?” or “How long does this take?” It was all new, they were in awe. We watched the world go by, listening to the announcements of what stops were coming up and the ticket inspector checking out tickets.
With not having to drive or sit in the front, there is a lot more interaction and you can have some fun on the train. We did some sticker books, word searches and played some games like i-spy. We laughed, joked and thoroughly enjoyed our first journey. The journey itself was 56 minutes and it felt a lot less. We were having so much fun, our last stop was here before we knew it.
We got off the train at the smaller train station in Largs. It’s right on the main street, so there is no confusion as to where you are or how to get to places. We headed straight for Largs seafront. We live further inland, so don’t see the seaside as often as we’d like. Isn’t the views stunning? We even spotted a jelly fish.
It wasn’t the warmest day, but the sun shone and the sky was certainly beautiful. We spent a lot of time playing on the seafront, skimming stones, watching the water and just enjoying being outdoors when it was dry. Largs is a lovely little seaside town. Very friendly with lots of do. You can spend the whole day there and more.
We decided to have a wee lunch out and when in Largs, you can’t not go to the famous Nardini’s Scotland’s most famous cafe and ice-cream parlour.
You can see on Tyler’s face this went down well.
My delicious Fish and Chips. How amazing does that look? And yes it tasted just as good. As a family we love to eat out together. It’s a treat and something we try to do as often as we can afford it. We don’t get to eat together as much during the week with work, etc. It’s important to spend some time eating and chatting. A great way to go be focussed on each other without other distractions.
Robert has a Gluten Free diet. We are so used to it now as it’s been years, but it can sometimes be a little tricky when eating out. Not to worry Nardini’s had it covered and just as amazing as mine was.
Being in Scotland’s most famous Ice-Cream parlour, it would be down right rude not to have some ice-cream wouldn’t it? I had the most amazing raspberry ripple and snowball sunday. Goodness it was good.
You can see by the smiles, they loved Nardini’s. The place was great and the staff were helpful. The kids menus can be coloured in, so we had some fun doing that while we waited on our food arriving. Our bill for all 5 of us came to around £60 which I think is reasonable for 5 meals and 5 desserts, especially fish and chips and the huge ice-creams. There is a special kids menu with pricing options which is good. If you are in Largs, you have to go here, even if it’s for ice-cream alone.
After lunch we walked along the front, watching the boats, ferries and paddle steamers. It was a lot of fun. You can get the ferry over to Millport form here. They run every 15 minutes and take around 36 minutes. There are lots to do on the island, but most people hire bikes and cycle around enjoying the spectacular views. Tyler did this on a school trip recently and it was a tad choppy, so we opted not to go there this time. I would like to go back sometime soon though.
There are a few wee rides along the front to entice kids into spending their parent’s money. It’s not too expensive, so we opted to have a go on these little hover cars £1 per go.
Largs is a quaint little town. It’s very picturesque and there is a lot to see. We walked further along past this lovely little fountain, counting the amount of boats we saw along the way.
About a 15 walk from the train station there is a fun play park which has views of the front. I loved that it was a fenced in playground, so we didn’t have to worry about Aria wandering off, especially in a strange place.
The kids loved Mackerston Playpark. It has different play equipment that will suit everyone. Both my younger two enjoyed the climbing ropes. The day was lovely and the park was safe and kid friendly, just what you’d want.
Next to the play park there is a lovely little skate park that the kids can bring their scooters or skateboards too. It is safe and a lot of fun. Aria didn’t have her scooter with her, but wanted to have a go anyway. Next to this there is a fab looking mini golf course. It wasn’t too busy and again it had great views of the seafront.
We headed back along the front towards the train station and stopped at this interesting statue. He’s giant isn’t he? The boys thought he was brilliant and insisted on a photo. We got to the train heading back on the 4:48 pm train. Being only able to use this ticket for off-peak, we wouldn’t have been able to use the next train, but the one after would have been ok, so you aren’t too restricted.
We had a wonderful day. Filled with happy memories and new experiences. We all went home with big smiles on our faces and the sun even stayed to play. I would highly recommend Largs, it’s a beautiful, picturesque, seaside town with lots to see and do. Kelburn castle and park is also close by, we have visited there recently and it’s another place you could spend the whole day. The journey home was uneventful and we chatted, laughed and did some more stickers in our books. Travelling by train with kids, is definitely less stressful than a longer car journey.
Day 2 of our ScotRail Glasgow Days Out Pass and the sun was shining, we packed up a picnic lunch and headed off on another train adventure. This time we were heading to a couple of locations. First up we went to >Summerlee – The Museum of Scottish Industrial Life. This is in Coatbridge. You can travel here from Glasgow Central and get off at Coatbridge Central. It takes around 45 minutes and then a 4 minute walk once you are off the train. We live a little closer, so opted not to head from Glasgow, the delights of the ScotRail City Days Out Pass. It means you can go on any train within the Glasgow line. Check out the map at the bottom to see what stations are covered.
Not long off the train and we arrived at Summerlee – The Museum of Scottish Industrial Life and look what a lovely day it was too? Summerlee Museum is located on the site of the nineteenth century Summerlee Ironworks. Steeped in history, there is so much to see, do and find out about it. The museum has some hands on exhibits and ones that comes to live to help engage with the younger generations. It really is quite fascinating.
The museum has Scotland’s only operational heritage tramway and recreated mine. It costs £1 for the tram ride, which I think is good value as all money goes towards keeping it operational. It’s well maintained and there are guided tours also available. Entry to the museum is free. A great place to take the kids for something a little different or those learning about history.
The museum has an 80’s exhibition on just now, which let’s just say, if you are a child of the 80’s like me, you will love love love. It’s brilliant. There are rooms setup just like you’d have had as a teen. With all the little bits from posters, to bed spreads, to cassettes to discman’s .
So many of these items brought back fond memories. Thankfully, the sense of fashion and haircuts, have moved on and hopefully don’t come back, but were fun at the time. From Commodore 64 computers to simon says and rubik’s cubes. Wait until you show your kids the gigantic mobile phones of the day.
There are lots of hands on exhibitions to get your into the 80’s way of life. I think this is definitely something for the adults, with the kids standing back and thinking it’s something from another planet. You can even play some records on the record player. It’s very cool.
My favourite thing about the exhibition was the toys. I loved my Sindy dolls and Carebears, etc. There were so many of them there. A great Star Wars collection too. It was brilliant.
With all that happening on upstairs, don’t forget to check out the main part of the museum downstairs. There is lots of eye witness statements to what it was like working in this industry. How it worked and working machinery in the main hall. You can also download a free >treasure trail app and enjoy following the clues around the site. There is an underground mine and little miners’ cottages dating from 1840 to 1980.
We headed outside to the picnic area to have out lunch. It was a lovely day so we ate outdoors, but there are indoor facilities also for when our Scottish weather isn’t as nice. You can also eat in the café and there is a shop with gifts and snacks. There are excellent toilets with baby-changing facility there too.
This playpark is the one at the top nearer to the tram. This one is aimed at little kids, which Aria loved. Don’t worry about older kids, there is a huge one just down from this. It’s fantastic and there are so much to do.
Lucas has finally found a love of the park. He’s never really enjoyed it, even as a small child. But, here he is.
The park at the bottom was huge and had loads to suit all ages. All the kids loved this park and we played there for a long time.
We had such a great time at Summerlee Museum we didn’t want to leave, but we had plans to go on another adventure. Their faces say it all. We highly recommend Summerlee Museum, it’s free, it’s fun and there are loads to do for all ages. Plus with a lot to do indoors it is suitable for all weathers.
Back to Coatbridge Central to head off on our final adventure. We hopped on the train to Hamilton Central and then changed trains to Chatelherault. The journey took around 50 minutes as we had to wait just 20 minutes for the connecting train. It didn’t take long and it was well documented.
We arrived at Chatelherault Country Park and headed up one of the trails to the Chatelherault house. Chatelherault is somewhere I spent a lot of my childhood in as I lived close by here, but have only taken the kids a handful of times. Mainly to the park as it’s fantastic, but it was nice to spend time inside the house, finding out about it’s history and there are so many wonderful trails, hills and wooded areas to explore. Wait until you see the views.
Chatelherault is part of the restored building which is now a visitor centre which has a great exhibition on the animals and different ways of life in the woodland area. It is interesting and there is an exhibiting gallery, a shop a well as a Café.
Inside the house is stunning. It is beautifully restored and maintained. The building however, has subsidence and you can feel it when inside the house. I found it very unsettling, although the kids and husband didn’t notice. I felt a little bit of vertigo and didn’t spend long inside. I don’t remember it feeling like that as a child.
With 10 miles of vast land and walks, the views from outside the house is spectacular. You can pretty much see all of Hamilton. You can see the whole world it feels. It is truly stunning. We couldn’t have picked a nicer day to visit.
We did some exploring and climbed the hills. There may have been a bit of rolling down them too. And that was just me!
We played hide and seek.
One of the best things about Chatelherault country park is the play park. It’s huge, it’s fun, it’s safe and did I say fun? The kids loved it. Climbing frames, slides, swings, a wooden train and more.
You can even build a sandcastle. It really has something for everyone. We had so much fun. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back here. The park is excellent it’s in the secluded forest area and there are lots of walks and hills to climb. It’s got free admission to the house and exhibition and again you can do one of the treasure trails from the maps in the link above. It’s a place you can visit again and again. What are you waiting for?
It was quite late on before we left Chatelherault. We should have been travelling on the train back to Glasgow, but instead we took a wee detour. The joys of the ScotRail City Days Out ticket. We headed to Motherwell and went to >Cook and Indi’s World Buffet in Motherwell.
It’s a great place for all the family and you can’t not have some chocolate fountain while there. However, there are literally hundreds of wonderful places to eat that are all over the Glasgow City line. Do check them out, chose one and hop on the train. As long as it’s not classes as peak time, it’s fine. The possibilities are endless.
We had the best time ever on our train adventure. We had a wonderful time as a family, visited some fantastic and beautiful places, made memories, had fun and didn’t spend a fortune. You can do so much for very little. Sometimes we forget how many beautiful places are within reach of our doorstep. Scotland has so many wonderful sites and there are many within an hour of Glasgow. Check out the >ScotRail map to see all the different places that are covered. I wouldn’t hesitate in doing this again and have been telling everyone about it. Having a car, you sometimes take public transport for granted, but this was so much easier. It was stress free with the kids and it wasn’t expensive. I’ve mentioned how many different places you can get to, to others who don’t get to visit these places as they don’t drive. Now there is no excuse. And with the family tickets, it’s excellent value.
If we’d paid for our tickets separately the cost would’ve been £63.90 for 2 adults and 2 children travelling on single journeys. Instead it cost us £34 for a family of 4. Under 5 travel free. It would cost £18 per adult ticket which is still great value.
City Days Out ticket details
- The City Days Out ticket can be purchased from any manned station and there is no need to book in advance.
- Perfect for looking to escape city life.
- Free travel for under 5s, half price for 5 – 15s.
- Hop on-hop off as much as you like. Only valid for Standard Class and off-peak travel.
- Your travel is flexible, but the validity period is not: the 2-day period starts on the first day of travel.
- There is an equivalent for those through in the East and looking to do the Edinburgh Days Out Travel Pass.
- Check out ScotRail for offers and discounted entry when travelling by train.
We all through it was excellent. We were pleasantly surprised by all the places we could go and the things we could do. We will be off on another train adventure soon. For now we are remembering all the wonderful memories we made.
Disclaimer:- Thank you to ScotRail for providing us a free Days out pass to try it out. But all words, photos and thoughts are my own.