Going to Scotland in July

[Logios]

Helloings Totally Warriors, and welcome back to me after many years (what do you mean by who are you?)
I am going to Scotland with my wife and kids this July. We fly to Edinburg, stay a few days perhaps, and then rent a car and drive towards a small harbour town called Rosehearty. I need to take a look at the Pitsligo Castle ruins after my uncle reseached that my family is descended from a Scottish noble who moved to Denmark in 1501. The family seems to have lost everything after the Jacobite rebellion, which may be why it is a ruin now.
We have two whole weeks, and we just need a few days in Rosehearty. We have not decided yet which route to take, but my daughter (12) would love to se the Loch Ness monster, and my son (1) probably need to spend a day in a water park or a petting zoo of some kind. My wife wants to see mountains and coasts, and she would probably be the one driving, considering one of my older threads here on the site:
https://www.twcenter.net/forums/show...ttle-of-whisky
We don't like to drive all the time, and would like to spend at least a full day at each place we visit, so places like Orkney, Islay or Kintyre are not really within reach for us. We are thinking about driving up the east coast, Aberdeen-Peterhead-Fraserburg, but we are not sure how long that would take us, in particular if we want to see some stuff on the way. Rosehearty-Inverness might take us trough the Speyside district it seems.
Any ideas of what to see on the way, or where to sleep and eat? We don't seek fancy hotels/restaurants with lots or stars. A hard bed and something deep-fried might do nicely.
I looked a bit at what to do in Edinburg, and my daugther might like some of the Harry Potter tours or ghost story walks. Anyone knows if this is as big a circus as it seems to be, or if it is any good?

[Quintus Hortensius Hortalus]

Sorry, I haven't seen this earlier, I hope I can still help.
Well I was in Scotland last year and from where you want to go, I would advise Dunnottar Castle. It's absolutely stunning to see on the Rock in the sea.
In addition Duff House is definitely worth a visit and not far away from Rosehearty. It's an old mid to late 18th-century Georgian estate house. My wife and I absolutely loved this, however, it might not be that spectacular for children. Nearby would also be Elgin Cathedral, a ruined old cathedral.
Near Edinburgh is also Stirling Castle which is worth a visit too.

Anyway, download the Historic Scotland app, there you can find a lot of places to visit!