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1nspiring Scotland
The Otter Pool – a local secret!
On a rare hot day in the Galloway area, there's no better place to enjoy the sun than the Otter Pool. Let everyone else head to the beach whilst you pack a picnic and get up to Clatteringshaws. The Otter Pool is a huge natural paddling pool in the river next to the Raiders Road (near Laurieston) where you can sunbathe and splash around all day. There are shallow pools and natural water slides as well as flat rocks to sunbathe on. Kids (and big kids!) will love it, but the only facilities are basic toilets so don't forget all the essentials.
The pool itself is about half a mile further up the Raiders Road from Loch Stroan. Raiders Road itself costs a couple of pounds to enter. Stop in Castle Douglas for an ice cream from Moore's chip shop on the way home!
Free Daily Entertainment
What's the best free daily entertainment in town? The Courts. Go along – check out what trials are on, find something interesting – closing speeches in a criminal case for instance. High Court is where all the real drama is – that's on the Saltmarket. You can come and go as you please. Watching a good trial lawyer like Donald Findlay in full flow is better than theatre.
Amuse the Kids
Take the kids to watch the model boat enthusiasts who turn up every second Saturday at the pond in Queens Park. Kept mine amused for a whole hour!
The new s1play is coming soon
Our team of inspiration technicians are burning the midnight oil here at s1 HQ to bring you the all new s1play. It'll launch next month and along with loads of inspiring ideas for things to do, from people like you, we're working on a tonne of clever new features.
Get 1nspired
Ever been stuck for new ways to entertain the kids, or a good excuse to escape the city? The new s1play will be the only site where you can share your ideas for things to do with the rest of Scotland. Together, we want to build Scotland's biggest inspiration machine.
Search across everything
If you're unsure what type of activity you'd like to do you'll be able to easily search across everything in our massive ideas database, from days out to cinema to restaurants, and much much more. Plus parents will have the option to restrict their search to family friendly activities.
Never miss a show again
Set up email alerts to suit your interests and choose how often you'd like to receive them.
Expert opinion
We have The Herald's cinema critic, Alison Rowat (left), on board plus restaurant reviews by Scotland's top food critic, Joanna Blythman.
Everyone's opinion
Comment on reviews and listings – if you disagree with the critics, tell them!