Top Tips

Leave plenty of time

When traveling around the Heart 200, remember to leave plenty of extra time for the needs of your child/children. A good, simple rule is: There is no rush.

For maximum enjoyment, take a look around our website at the range of places and activities to see and do, then plan a realistic itinerary.

When travelling with kids you will need lots of extra stops, especially for them to get out, see, and explore. And have you ever noticed how children always need to pee the moment you start driving?

Plan ahead

Make sure when traveling with children that you plan ahead. This is where Heart 200 comes in, Heart 200 is the perfect starting point for exploring the very heart of Scotland.  A good idea when driving by car is knowing where public toilets and service stations are.

The Perth and Kinross Council website provides a list of public toilets and publicly available toilets. https://www.pkc.gov.uk/publictoilets

A directory of public toilets in the Stirling Council area can be found here.

There are plenty of service stations around Perth and Stirling, but the further out into the remote parts of the countryside you go, the fewer and further between the service stations become. For those not used to such remote areas (especially in the Highland North), please be more vigilant than normal about keeping your fuel tank topped up.

Here is a useful directory of service stations in the Perth and Kinross Council area.

Here is a useful directory of service stations in the Stirling Council area.

See our advice on Charging Points if you are travelling in an electric car.

Pre-book

When it comes to accommodation and activities, you don’t want your wee ones to be disappointed, so make sure you pre-book whenever possible. We would also advise phoning ahead to make sure of opening times, especially in the off-seasons.

Snacks

When traveling by car with children its best to be prepared, and that includes snacks. Our number one top-tip for travel snacks when it comes to kids is …. NOTHING STICKY. You want to take simple finger foods that won’t make a mess of the car or the children. Water (for drinking) is always best to take in the car with children and avoid chocolate or large amounts of sweets. We always find frozen squeezable yogurts are a great idea. They can keep all other food and snacks cold, and by the time the kids eat them they are melted again. Keep snacks simple and opt for little tubs. Veggie sticks are always good, as are crackers and cheese.

Car Safety

Here is some useful safety advice from Police Scotland about Children travelling in cars:

– https://www.scotland.police.uk/keep-safe/road-safety/children-travelling-in-cars

Medicines and Safety

The best medicine to travel with in Scotland is insect repellent, especially in the summer. You can get this in spray form or wrist bands for children to wear. Always make sure you know where the nearest emergency room is if you know that your children are prone to allergies or severe reactions to insect bites.

Hospitals

You’re going to be on holiday, so we really hope you’re not going to need to visit a hospital. However, just in case you are unfortunate enough to be confronted with a situation where you do need to locate a hospital, here are the details of the three main ones close to the Heart 200 route:

Perth Royal Infirmary – Accident and Emergency

https://www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk/GoingToHospital/OurPremisesA-Z/PerthRoyalInfirmary/index.htm

Forth Valley Royal Hospital – Accident and Emergency

https://nhsforthvalley.com/

Forth Valley Royal Hospital is near Larbert, about 9 miles south of Stirling.

Pitlochry Community Hospital – Minor injuries and illness unit

https://www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk/GoingToHospital/OurPremisesA-Z/PitlochryCommunityHospital/index.htm

Travelling With Dogs

Our dogs are part of our families and taking them on holiday with us is part of the fun of getting away from home for a few days.

Here is some useful safety advice from PDSA.

In the same way the we hope you and your children won’t need a hospital whilst on holiday, we hope that your dog will also remain in good health and not need to be seen by a vet, but just in case of that eventuality, follow this link and enter your postcode or location to find the nearest vet to wherever you happen to be: https://www.any-uk-vet.co.uk/