Our top five family days out from Stirling

by | Feb 9, 2017 | Blog

The days are long, and the landscape is beautiful. Round up the kids, and head outside with our top five family days out near Stirling.

Family fun at Briarlands Farm - one of our top five days out
Family fun at Briarlands Farm
Boarding at Boness and Kinneil Railway - top five
A brilliant family day out amongst dedicated volunteers at Boness and Kinneil Railway

Briarlands Farm

This popular farm park lies just 8 miles or a scenic 15 minutes’ drive from Stirling, tucked into a tree-lined farm road near the village of Doune. You’ll find endless outdoors play here, with jumping pillows, go-Karts, toddler trikes, zip wire, sand pits, tractor rides and more. Feed the farm animals, and join one of the regular handling sessions to meet smaller furries. There’s a craft zone and a toddler play area when you need cover from showers, as well as a family-friendly tearoom with tonnes of home baking. Pick your own strawberries too, when the season comes around. For more information, see: http://briarlandsfarm.co.uk/

Blair Drummond Safari Park

This well-known safari park just outside Doune needs little introduction. Just a few minutes from Briarlands Farm, it’s around a 15-minute drive from Stirling City Centre. You’ll find everything from elephants, zebras and lions to penguins and sea-lions in this conservation-focused park. And there’s plenty thrown in to your ticket price too, including a range of demonstrations, boat safaris, pedal boats, Astroglide and ‘Meet the keepers’ sessions. Then there is a raft of paid attractions to consider too. The footprint is large, so it’s an idea to plan your visit in advance. For information, see: https://www.blairdrummond.com/

Boness and Kinneil Railway

This family-friendly heritage railway and museum is run by tireless volunteers who smile whatever the weather. They run steam trains throughout the year, with a host of special events ranging from Afternoon Teas on the Train, to Days out with Thomas, to Easter Egg Specials, and much more. Located in Boness, just 19 miles or a 29-minute drive from Stirling, Boness and Kinneil Railway is a brilliant day out for the family, even when the weather’s inclement. There’s a tearoom too, with a nostalgic atmosphere and proper gingham tablecloths. For more information, see: http://www.bkrailway.co.uk/

The Kelpies

To see them is to love them. These captivating sculptures tower some 30 metres above the M9, just 14 miles or 27 minutes’ drive from Stirling. And they are the stunning centrepiece of the Helix Park, a local greenspace for all that lies on the banks of the Forth Clyde Canal. Comprising 27 km of pathways, a lagoon, a splash zone, an unrivalled play area, bike hire, boat hire, cafes, visitor centre and public art spaces, the Helix has become one of Scotland’s most acclaimed visitor attractions. And yet it’s still free. There are regular events too. For more information, see: http://www.thehelix.co.uk/

Brucefields Family Golf Centre

If you fancy a family game of golf in inclusive, friendly surroundings, then Brucefields Family Golf Centre is for you. This 9-hole golf course lies just outside Bannockburn, only 3 miles outside Stirling. It offers a huge range of facilities and support services for all members of the family, whether they’re learners, experienced players or just there for the day out. There are some pretty good views to be enjoyed on the way round, too. There’s golf tuition, a driving range and a bistro bar too. Pay, play, have fun. More details here: http://www.brucefields.co.uk/

The Kelpies - figureheads for the fabulous Helix Park
The Kelpies – figureheads for the fabulous Helix Park
Brucefields Family Golf Centre - golf, fun, and great views
Brucefields Family Golf Centre – golf, fun, and great views

Photo credits:

  • Briarlands Farm: Photos taken by Blue Stag Media, and reproduced with kind permission of Briarlands Farm
  • The Kelpies: Photo taken by, and reproduced with kind permission of, The Kelpies Team
  • Brucefields Family Golf Centre: Photo kindly supplied by Brucefields Family Golf Centre
  • Boness and Kinneil Railway: By Elliott Simpson, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8322907
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Local Heroes: Green Aspirations

by | May 12, 2016 | Blog

Green Aspirations is a woodlands social enterprise whose mission is to inspire outdoor learning. They’re driven by a desire to see everyone re-connect with nature, not only to benefit the environment, but to improve health and wellbeing too. They’re a small, dynamic team, big on fun, and are this month’s Local Heroes.

Having fun outdoors at a Green Aspirations birthday party

Having fun outdoors at a Green Aspirations birthday party 

Bug hunting with Lorna at Green Aspirations

Bug hunting in the woods with Lorna

Just a 28-minute drive from Stirling city centre will take you to Balfron Station – at the edge of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park – and the woodland home of Green Aspirations. There, alongside volunteers, you will likely be welcomed by Louise, an award-winning community consultant and founding director of Green Aspirations; Paul, her partner and woodworker extraordinaire; or Lorna, bug expert and mastermind of the Green Aspirations holiday club, Wee Skelfs. Together, they deliver workshops, parties and volunteering projects that teach skills as varied as woodland management, whittling, axecraft, bushcraft, and green woodworking. All profits are ploughed back into sustaining the enterprise and widening its reach.

Green Aspirations is for everyone – from companies who commission team-building days and offer corporate volunteering, to kids having den-building birthday parties, to tourists who want to reconnect with nature. ‘Our holiday clubs give children a chance to get outdoors and learn more about their environment in a fun, hands-on way they might not otherwise be allowed to do. Then there are our family bushcraft days, which teach firelighting, bow and arrow-making, den building, campfire cooking and lots more, and encourage people to really think about nature for the first time. We can create days round a theme of their choice, from hunter-gathering, to bridge-building and more. But we’re not extreme – you won’t find us eating bugs or creating survival challenges – we share insights in a soft way for people who’re new to nature or who want to engage more with it at their own pace.’

So what keeps such a busy team motivated when money isn’t a factor? Louise answers without hesitation: ‘It’s being involved with nature – there’s a mindfulness about it. It’s good for the soul – and there’s scientific evidence to prove that being closer to nature is good for everyone. Also, it’s great seeing people change. One family come to us for a family bushcraft day, and the mum in particular was marked by it – gaining enough confidence to take her family hillwalking, make campfires and use her new skills.’

Between running their workshops, education projects, holiday clubs and kids’ birthday parties, the team are pretty busy, but that hasn’t stopped them taking on a challenging project of their own. Over the past year, they’ve built their own greenwood shelter from scratch, to provide cover when the weather isn’t great. ‘Previously we used tarps hung between trees but on wet days things could get muddy and we might be forced to cancel activities,’ Louise explains. ‘But we’re proud to be finishing off our new shelter which we’ve built entirely by hand, without electricity, and using only wind-felled trees found on site.’ Not only is their new greenwood shelter a handsome asset, it’s something of an emblem for what Green Aspirations are all about – working with nature, not against it, to improve your environment and have a whole heap of fun at the same time.

Getting muddy is never a problem at Green Aspirations

Getting muddy is never a problem at Green Aspirations

The team have worked hard on building ther own greenwood shelter over the past year

The Green Aspirations Team have worked hard to build their own greenwood shelter this year

 

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