North Lodge Glamping

Major days out to Edinburgh (45 minutes’ drive) and Glasgow (50 minutes) are a cinch, but there’s no need to travel that far if you don't fancy it. Perhaps make a beeline for the UNESCO-listed industrial heritage site at New Lanark (20 minutes), where you can tour former cotton mills and take walks along the River Clyde. If you have kids in tow, next stop might be Clyde Valley Family Park (25 minutes), popular for its mini-train rides, crazy golf and animal encounters. There are some quite niche cultural activities in these parts too: Little Sparta (15 minutes) is home of an art walk celebrating the work of sculptor/poet/gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay. The market town of Biggar (15 minutes) is a lively spot with lots of pubs but also has the Victorian-era Purves Puppets, a theatre with a café and shop selling puppets attached. For a spot of shopping, the pleasant market town of Peebles (half an hour) has a decent selection of shops selling quality Scottish memorabilia; otherwise head for Livingston Designer Outlet (20 minutes), where you can unearth discount labels and treat the kids to world cuisine in the food outlets.