Loch Lomond Shores

Loch Lomond Shores is a frequent family destination for us as it's close to Gran and Papa.  We have annual passes to the Sea Life Centre (review here), which means we can spend a decent amount of time here.

The views over the loch are wonderful and we take them forgranted!  The first part of the centre that greets you when you arrive is a crazy golf - we haven't tried this yet and are running out of excuses to put Angus off!

There is the Birds of Prey Centre, which hasn't been reviewed well by friends so, again, we haven't visited.  In fact, you can see in to a small part of it from the woodland walks and it looks underwhelming.

Next up there is the Tree Zone aerial adventure course.  Again, we are too small for this.  And it would be an expensive treat.  However there are some paths underneath (called the Tree Loop and Meadow Walk), which are well decked/laid, ideal for buggies and lead out to some little beaches that are perfect for stone-throwing or paddling in wellies.  You can also watch the big boys and girls doing the aerial course.  I try and make these walks part of any visit.

Now you reach the edge of the loch, where there are boat tours (I have my eye on some of the shortest cruises for a summer treat).  The shopping centre is here too.  The highlights are the RSPB shop and Jenners/House of Fraser.

Inside the shopping centre there is a soft play centre, Lomand Pirates.  Mr GFN has taken Angus before and found the prices to be reasonable, the food okay (the food is raved about in some quarters, we were therefore really let down), the soft play is good for little ones.  The soft play is in a single story so there is no capacity for a high frame, it does have a lot of bouncy castle elements.  The problem that is unique to my family is that Angus doesn't like a bouncy castle, so we don't visit this soft play.

Further along, you find the play park and Sea Life Centre.  The play park is really well maintained and has lots to do for really little ones through to quite big kids.  Angus always goes straight for the slide, which has a a stair case up to it, making it very child-friendly.

There is an obstacle course, which he loves but we have to give him a hand on.  Big kids love it though, it's very long and quite a challenge.

There are lots of other bits and pieces to play on: musical instruments, climbing, role play.  We can spend quite a long time in the play park.

If you keep walking around the loch there is another beach with lots of picnic benches.  These are really good and not too wasp-infected.  This is where the outdoor activities like canoeing and segues are.  Keep going and you find some sand-diggers.  We haven't gone past this but the last stop is the Maid of the Loch.  Apparently there are displays on board and a tea room.  One day we'll make it this far.

The management stage lots of events all year round and it is worthwhile checking the website often.  There is a regular farmer's market and several big foodie events each year that are really huge and well-attended.  During any sort of holiday, there is free stuff for kids to do.  We have done some cookery school bits and seen the Drakes of Hazard over the years.  There's always entertainers, face painters etc over any school holiday.

I think a picnic or buying something at a market are the best eating options at Loch Lomond.  There is a cafe at the top of the Sea Life Centre, which scores very highly for their amazing views but the food is lacklustre (toasties, soup, nachos, kids lunch boxes).  There is a Thorntons Cafe and a cafe in Jenners but we haven't tried either.  Our preferred cafe closed during 2016.  There is also the Kilted Skirlie restaurant; the menus look okay (pub grub) but we haven't tried it yet.

The car park is huge but the sunnier the day or the better the event on, the busier it is.  This is also true for traffic through Dumbarton to get there, so do check before you travel.  There are good toilet facilities and baby change in the shopping centre.