Banff Guide for Families

Families should explore Banff! Banff is full of tons of history and parents should take their children out to go explore all that Banff has to offer. We have found out so much amazing history and culture that Banff has. We created this website to explain and show you what we have found and we will lead you on a walk which will allow you to explore what is on our doorstep. So fasten your seatbelts and get ready to join us on this journey.

Map Route

Information About the Walk

Difficulty of the walk: medium

Suitable for: families, runners, cyclists

Aimed at: families

Time: 1hr 30m - 2hrs

NOT suitable for: wheelchairs

You'll need: water, an inhaler (if you need one), sunscreen, sunglasses (if it's sunny) and possibly a snack.

Spotty Bag Shop

We will start this journey at the famous Spotty Bag Shop. The best way to start would be to park your car in the carpark just along from Spotty Bag, there are tons of spots to park there, so you won't have a problem parking. In this journey we will go round in a big circle and we will come back to the Spotty Bag at the end. The Spotty Bag is a shop that is unique to Banff, so it is pretty special. There is a little cafe upstairs with a good variety of food for lunch (if you don't go to Banff Castle or The Vinery).

Graveyard

The Graveyard is the next location after the Spotty Bag. The Graveyard is REALLY old! The Graveyard has gravestones that go back to the 16th Century! If you went on this trip with your children, you could tell them about how old the graveyard is. You can also see how old it is by looking at the graves and broken gravestones.

Banff Castle

Banff Castle is a pretty historic place in Banff. It is an amazing castle that was built in the 12th Century. It did get bombed in World War 2 but they rebuilt it, so it was even better than before. But the Banff Castle is a good place to stop for lunch, because they have a cafe. Their food is really good!

(Other cafes at the Spotty Bag or Vinery)

Banff Castle Game

How many can you count...

The game is where you will count how many wolves there are around Banff Castle.

There are many wolves because of what wolves represent to Scotland - strength. See if you can spot what is carved on the tree too!

Marshmallow and Spaghetti Boat Task

Centuries ago, Vikings invaded Banff Castle, so our task was to make boats out of marshmallows and spaghetti to represent this.

Princess Royal Park

Princess Royal could be a spot to rest, especially if people are playing football. At Princess Royal, the Highland League team Deveronvale host their matches. So I would recommend going there. Princess Royal also used to be a hospital camp during World War One.

The Vinery

The Vinery would be a good place to have a rest because it's a nice park with pretty flowers. If you did have a rest here, you could stop to have lunch here. (Other lunch spots at Banff Castle and Spotty Bag).

Can You Find a...

The Vinery game is where you will find certain objects, you’ll write the objects you would like to find then spin the wheel on “spin the wheel” website. (we have a link below)

It can be anything that you will know you can find in the Vinery

Task: Every good looking colour flower or bird take a photograph of it (IF you have a phone) if you don't have a phone try and describe it to yourself while relaxing.

Wheel

Duff House

Duff House is the last place we will be visiting. Duff House is probably the best place to just chill out. There's a massive bit of land in front of Duff House so if you were having a picnic this would be the best place to go. This is also a good place for the kids because of the play park. The kids will play for hours in this park because it's so fun. So it will be like a reward for kids after the big walk they did.

Our Drawings

In this drawing task, we had to draw a picture of a landmark in Banff, (I chose Duff House and that is my drawing up there). Then when we finished our drawing we had to transfer it on a special bit of paper. Then we sculpted it and painted it and then we printed it on lino in the style of local artist, Bryan Angus.