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Taking the Kids: A world-famous golf resort, now family friendly

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on

Got your seatbelt on? Not only is your 10-year-old in the driver's seat, but she'll navigate through water-filled ditches, turning to avoid trees on an exceedingly bumpy dirt track, even up a steep stone path.

Gulp! Turns out, she'll probably navigate the course better than you behind the wheel of the amphibious argocat (eight wheels). "Kids often are the best drivers, said instructor Duncan Eade at Gleneagles Resort in Scotland, where the British School of Falconry offers such unique vacation experiences. "Moms often are scared and dads drive too fast," he explained.

One Philadelphia teen I met freely admitted her younger brother was the best driver in their family. Was it the Scottish air that had her complimenting a younger sibling in front of him?

How about the steely resolve of the 4 year olds, who navigate the mini obstacle course in their tiny Land Rovers, or blithely hold a hawk on their gloved arm? (This is home to Britain's first falconry school, but much more about the ancient sport of falconry in an upcoming column.)

Of course, Gleneagles is known for golf -- it is home to three of Scotland's best championship courses and it is where the 2014 Ryder Cup was played. But today, only 30 percent of guests play golf -- and some of them may be kids taking lessons.

Millions are heading to Edinburgh this week for the Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world, but with kids, I'd rather be at Gleneagles, which is just an hour from Edinburgh, or five hours by train from London. The upscale resort has a well-deserved and growing reputation as a family resort that gets what 21st-century families want -- from complimentary kids' activities in one of the coziest kids clubs I've ever seen to activities you won't find most places (think training a gundog or learning to take care of a pony) to accommodating restaurants that not only offer innovative kids' menus but are also happy to provide a half portion for a junior foodie, or allow them to make their own pizza -- chef's hat included.

 

The resort has just launched a new Family Country Pursuits package designed to encourage families to challenge themselves with activities they couldn't do at home -- everything from hawking to off-road driving, archery, shooting, riding and training those adorable gundogs, among other things. Cost starts at under $6,000 for a four-night package, including five activities, breakfasts, dinners and lodging for a family of four.

There are family rooms with bunk beds, time-share homes for rent where families can spread out. Kids are welcomed in the big dining room in their pint-sized robes and slippers for breakfast like 5-year-old Rosie Templeton, whose mom, Kristy, said she'd been looking forward to the made-to-order pancakes at the buffet for a week.

Olivia Charman, 14, traveling with her family from Atlanta, has been happily spending a week here every summer since she was nine. "I like all the different things you can't do at home," Olivia explained.

"The hardest thing when we find a place we love is to go somewhere else," added her mom, Lorraine.

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