Exploring Scotland with my four-year-old on a £500 week

My four-year-old insisted he could see Nessie as ripples spun out from a sightseeing boat on Loch Ness, shouts echoing around the ruins of 13th-century Urquhart Castle. It was day four of a week-long Scotland trip that I planned on a £500 budget; people had been sceptical, but we set off from Glasgow by train (£30), picked up a cheap hire car for the drive to Skye and slept in a tent to keep costs down.

For £16 at Camping Skye we played beneath Beinn na Caillich, ate chips and mushy peas from the shop and roasted marshmallows on a firepit. From Broadford we drove to Elgol and walked about 2.5 miles (4km) to our overnight bothy, using a bag of Percy Pigs as incentive.

He trudged in waterproofs with a walking pole while I carried our supplies, pausing to point out the purple petals of devil’s-bit scabious and the myths that go with it.

Scotland, Skye

scotland, loch ness, nessie, urquhart castle, skye, glasgow, budget travel, camping, bothy, percy pigs