National Holidays trip to Scotland

View of Ailsa Craig
View of Ailsa Craig

I was going to be at home for over a week – coming up for the Spice Girls concert, staying for a family meal – and I suggested to my mam that we go somewhere on holiday together. We opted for a cheap National Holidays deal, a trip to Scotland featuring Loch Lomond and the Ayrshire coast.

Moffat
Moffat town centre

We joined the coach at Sunderland; I was the youngest person there, but only by about 20 years, not 30. Our first proper stop (not counting the Houghton Hall garden centre near Carlisle) was Moffat, a former spa town near the Scottish border with a quaint high street, a tiny museum and a statue of a sheep overlooking the town centre.

Ayr
The town of Ayr

The next day featured trips to Girvan and Ayr. The best thing about Girvan, to be honest, was the rainbow ice cream cone which I joyfully Instagrammed. The weather wasn’t great and the local museum was shut. Ayr was bigger and had a Wetherspoons that used to be a pub (big plus) but we were too far away to visit the nearby Burns Cottage, which was a real missed opportunity.

Unicorn ice cream
Uni-cone

The third day featured a boat ride on Loch Lomond, but as I’d done this before and the weather was windy, I spent most of my time downstairs. My mam, who is much hardier than I am, stuck it out on the top deck almost till the end and appeared none the worse for it.

Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond

A trip to Glasgow followed, with a tour round the city followed by a guided tour of the Council Chambers in George Square and a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art to pass the time until the bus called for us again. Even though we’d visited Glasgow before I thought this was one of the best parts of the trip, as we still managed to find new things to do.

Glasgow council chambers
The council chambers in Glasgow

We stayed in the Adamton Country Hall Hotel near Prestwick Airport. The hotel looks pretty posh until I point out that we were staying in the budget bit at the back. It was fine, the meals (breakfast and dinner provided) were perfectly decent. It’s a shame that we were in the middle of nowhere and were pretty much trapped in the evening. The company does put on entertainment in the evening, but bingo and cabaret isn’t really my thing, although we gave the bingo a shot. Mostly we drank wine and chatted to the other guests, and I took the opportunity to have a few baths, having brought along a couple of Lush bath bombs for the occasion.

Adamton Country House Hotel
The posh side of the hotel

Would I sign up for another National Holidays trip? Perhaps. They’re definitely aimed at older people, and the itinerary and entertainment takes this into account. However, they’re good value for money – well, cheap – and if you don’t drive they can be a good way of getting to places you’d otherwise struggle to go. My mam and I would have liked to have more control over where we went (I wish we could have avoided Girvan and paid a visit to Burns Cottage) but if there was a day or an overnight trip to a particular location (I’ve seen one to Castle Howard, where I’ve always fancied visiting), I’d certainly consider it.

Selfie in front of the hotel
Pretending this is my natural habitat

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