The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Staycation is fun in the extreme
Brian Stormont and his family found that the south of Scotland has a wealth of highenergy activities to enjoy
If you’re planning an active holiday with an exciting range of activities, then a staycation in Scotland is a fantastic choice. At the invitation of VisitScotland, myself and my wife Karen and daughter Cari headed off on a long weekend of family fun. Our first stop was Glentress Forest near Peebles where we would try out their mountain bike trails.
The gateway to the Tweed Valley Forest Park, Glentress Forest is an hour’s drive south of Edinburgh. It’s a mecca for mountain bikers who flock to the award-winning trails.
The trails we undertook were testing as we ascended, but the real fun was heading back down as we raced through the forest, splashing through puddles and taking on little jumps and fast turns.
Tired and sweaty, but thrilled by the experience, we returned our bikes and then enjoyed lunch at the Glentress Peel Cafe.
The afternoon was to be spent taking part in Go Ape’s Treetop Challenge, described as “The Goliath” of high rope adventures.
Go Ape has centres across country and you embrace your inner monkey as you make your way through the trees, climbing and crawling higher and higher.
Challenging, but achievable, the course at Glentress includes seven zip wires with the finale being an epic crossing that must be about half a mile across and, at its highest point, is 48 metres off the ground. As you zoom through, you cannot help but marvel at how free you feel.
After enjoying some downtime, we checked into our accommodation for the night – Glentress Forest Lodges.
These cosy little pods are a stone’s throw from the mountain bike centre and you can park next to them. Each sleeps four, has a fridge and electricity and a fire pit outside.
The facilities are excellent in the main block with the reception area including a kitchen area and TV room, as well as toilet and washing facilities.
We headed into Peebles for our mouthwatering evening meal at the Osso restaurant. Lovely.
We had a 10am start at the Galloway Activity Centre the following day, so with a two-hour drive ahead of us we were on the road by 7am.
The drive was a real delight as we passed amazing scenery showcasing Scotland at its most beautiful.
Archery was first on the agenda. After mastering how to string the bow and the basics of the sport, we were soon hitting the target.
Climbing on the superb climbing wall at Galloway was next.
Cari and the other youngsters taking part confidently tackled all three climbs
Huge inflatables provide a variety of fun challenges as you swim and climb your way around the course
and I surprised myself by managing, too.
After a break for lunch, the wobbly water park was next.
If you’ve ever watched the TV programme Total Wipeout, then you’ll have seen a challenging course across water. The wobbly water park, which is laid out in the middle of Loch Ken, is a similar idea.
Huge inflatables provide a variety of fun challenges as you swim and climb your way around the course, which requires a reasonable amount of physical strength as you haul yourself on to the obstacles. But it’s a thrilling experience.
Our final activity of the day was slip and slide. This is a 50-metre slide and, as they tell you at the centre, there really is no better way to get wet as you launch yourself down the slide and water propels you to the bottom.
Exhausted but elated after our activities, we cleaned up and had a spot to eat before we took on our night time activity – a visit to the Dark Skies Observatory to do some planet spotting.
The Galloway centre does a
gourmet burger night, which we had booked. There is a choice of three burgers and we all opted for the beef and caramelised onion, although a vegetarian and chicken option also feature.
Our accommodation was on site and we were fortunate to be spending the night in the safari tent, which was an absolute delight.
It sleeps five, featuring a double bedroom and another room with three cleverly laid out bunk beds. The living area is delightful and there is everything you would need to cook a meal. Outside, there is a barbecue and plenty of logs and charcoal.
After a couple of hours taking it easy, we headed off to the observatory.
The session with their resident astronomer allows you to explore the wonders of the dark skies – a joy to behold.
Using their telescopes and listening to the experts providing a wealth of knowledge, we viewed Saturn, the Moon and Jupiter.
This was the perfect ending to the perfect day.
Up early again, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the centre’s cafe before we headed off on the final leg of our south of Scotland tour – Crawick Multiverse.
It’s a good place to stretch your legs and see a different spin on the area’s local industry.
Crawick Multiverse has used landscape art to transform a former open cast coal mine into a 55-acre artland, visitor attraction and public space.
Created by Charles Jencks, a wellknown figure in landscape architecture, the space represents the exciting discoveries and theories of the universe, bringing together space, astronomy and cosmology.
All too soon, it was time for us to head back to the east coast and bring an end to a fantastic family weekend.