Activities for Kids in Perth

Activities for Kids in Perth! – Perthshire is one of the greenest, most pleasant parts of Scotland. So central, we’re often passing through it or dedicating time to a stay in the region. Here’s an updated round up of child friendly places to stay and play when visiting Perthshire with tots – all visited by us. *Contains affiliate links 

Active Kids, Perth – Activities for Kids in Perth!

Active Kids – With a pirate ship and fort complete with climbing frames and slides, as well as soft play, huge trampolines, a Tractor Ted zone and farm animals to say hello to this is a great stop just off the A90. It offers a colourful café and an indoor soft play area for under 7s. Outside is a Tractor Ted area, crazy golf, go-karts and lots of farm animals to meet. Look out for inflatable pillows (split into different age groups), an excellent playground, fab pirate ship (above) and fort to explore and play cowboys. We liked this place so much I wrote a full review here.

Highland Safari Red Deer and Barn Owl Experience, Dull – Activities for Kids in Perth!

Near the village of Dull (twinned with the town of Boring in Oregon) you’ll find the Highland Safari Red Deer and Barn Owl Experience. While they offer a range of 4×4 safaris we opted for the gentler onsite introduction to these handsome animals. We watched a brief DVD full of concise facts before hand-feeding the iconic stags. Inside we saw a barn owl in silent flight. There are also toy tractors for children to play with. For a full review click here.

Scone Palace, Scone – Activities for Kids in Perth

Access to the grand Scone Palace is by guided tour only, which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend for youngsters, but I would recommend spending a day out in the grounds and gardens. Visitors can explore the Kitchen Garden, the star-shaped maze, and see the replica Stone of Destiny that originally had its home in Scone. A cafe is available, plus a food shop for gifts and treats, plus acres of room for little legs to run around.

Find the Birnam Oak, Birnam – Activities for Kids in Perth

Birnam is in the heart of Perthshire’s ‘Big Tree Country‘. As you can gather the area is proud of its trees, especially the large historic ones, but in Birnam the search is on for the oak that inspired Shakespeare when writing the Scottish play ‘Macbeth’. This is a fun forest walk searching for the famous tree, and look out for the local bluffs. If you spot a tree towering above you with a flagstone before it, you may assume it’s the Birnam Oak, but it could be ‘The Young Pretender’, a sycamore of only 300 years old. When you do find the actual oak, it’s so vast that children can hide inside its tree trunk – for lots more pictures and more info read this.

Visit the Beatrix Potten Centre, Birnam

Take a peak inside the Beatrix Potter Exhibition in the centre of Birnam. The author spent her summer months in the area (in nearby Dalguise) and apparently wrote a ‘picture letter’ in Scotland which is said to have provided the basis for  ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’. ‘The Tale of Jeremy Fisher’ is also said to have been inspired by river walks along the Tay. We accessed the free garden and let Mr Toddler and Mr Baby find all the animals. The Beatrix Potter Exhibition is housed within the Birnam Arts Centre; a modern, cutting edge arts facility with frequent performances and exhibitions. It’s also home to a great cafe serving healthy light lunches as well as coffee and cake. For more images and a review click here.

Cycling at Comrie Croft, Crieff

The Croft is renowned for its cycle trails and cycle hire. It also has a well stocked bike shop for any last minute purchases. An activity for older children, this is a lovely part of the world for peddle power. For a full review of Comrie Croft (its glamping, hostel and camping) click here.

Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre, Comrie

Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre is pretty vast. It has two indoor play sheds, featuring everything from ball pits to target practise, as well as an outdoor course for miniature ride-on tractors, but the animals are the main attraction. My favourite area was the hatchery, which was full of cute, fluffy baby animals; from chicks and rabbits, to lambs and guinea pigs. Outside we met lots of native Scottish farms animals and wild animals – a highlight of which were the Scottish Wild Cats. But we also came across tiny monkeys, meerkats and a taste of the exotic too. A fab wee café to boot.

Cultybraggan Camp, near Comrie

A very curious one this, a former WW2 POW camp hidden in the depths of the Perthshire countryside. It once housed some of the most zealous Nazi Prisoners of War held in the UK. As the kids ran around the open space, we took in the Nissen huts an solitary confinement cells that once held these notorious prisoners. We saw the solitary confinement jail where inmates were isolated. More info and images here.

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Visit the Oldest Library in Scotland

We visited Innerpeffray Library,which is a short but scenic walk from the carpark to the library itself, with a stunning viewpoint thrown in for good measure. The highlight of the library are the staff. In some ways it could be said that there’s not much going on, the library is full of ancient texts, not modern kid’s literature, but the staff took the time to go through a book, yellowed with age and full of line drawings of animals. The boys were drawn in engaged, distracted and entertained by a wonderfully patient woman, and this left my husband space to browse the books and ask lots of geeky questions. The library is also free to visit. There was also a display of old children’s books from the 18th and 19th century, which reveal how far we’ve come.

Dunkeld Walk, Dunkeld

Another simple and achievable family walk. Start in Dunkeld town centre, stepping inside cathedral, before carrying along the river and under the towering trees until you reach Dunkeld House Hotel, where we stopped for coffee. Follow our walk here.

The Enchanted Forest, near Pitlochry

In terms of events I thoroughly recommend the Enchanted Forest held every autumn. Faskally Woods are beautifully illuminated, and children are transfixed. This wonderful woodland walk is simply magical – read how we got on, tips and advice, here.

Now You Need Somewhere to Stay 🙂

These are the hotels we’ve experienced and enjoyed in Perthshire, many with extra facilities and pools for family fun.

The Crieff Hydro

If you haven’t heard of this family friendly institution then where have you been? The Crieff Hydro is a treat for adults as the kids are so entertained here, plus it includes free childcare/kids club for junior guests. After a bout of swimming, a bounce on the trampolines and a walk on the vast estate we checked the boys into kids’ club for the first time ever. What a delight. Admittedly Mr Husband and I never left the hotel, but we merrily skipped off to indulge in a cream tea in the elegant Winter Garden. We then hit the Meikle bar for a cocktail, and before long the three hour kids’ club session was complete.

Scotland’s Spa Hotel – Pool

For the Enchanted Forest and Pitlochry, I’d recommend Scotland’s Spa Hotel (it’s within walking distance of the Enchanted Forest bus stop and has its own free car park). Simple rooms but it boasts a v sparkly pool with lots of lovely restaurants nearby. Discover updated prices here.

The Moness Resort – Pool

The Moness Resort, Aberfeldy – For self-catering facilities with access to hotel dining, pool and spa the Moness Resort is the perfect solution. There’s even a play room near the bar, and it’s very reasonable – check prices here.

Atholl Arms – with Beer Garden

Atholl Arms, Dunkeld – For excellent cuisine, a riverside beer garden and a central Dunkeld location visit the Atholl Arms. Book the Victoria Suite for extra space. Check availability here.

Click here if you fancy some glamping inspiration at Comrie Croft! The Nordic Yurts were so cool, plus it offers camping and a smart hostel. And a final hotel with a pool is the lovely Dunkeld House Hotel that I mentioned in the riverside walk earlier.

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