AroundTown MUSEUMS & ATTRACTIONS
Museums and attractions are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Submit listings at least 16 days before publication to aroundtown@list.co.uk. Listings compiled by Laura Ennor and Lauren Mayberry. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry archaeology, geology and more, as well as art by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (including The Mackintosh House – the reassembled interior of his home) and James McNeill Whistler. The art galleries are currently undergoing major refurbishment and are due to re-open in Sep 2012.
GLASGOW
■ BURRELL COLLECTION 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 287 2550, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. In the heart of Pollok Country Park is this collection of art, including work by Degas, Rodin and Cézanne as well as ancient and medieval artefacts. It is named after shipping tycoon Sir William Burrell who amassed much of its collection of over 8000 objects in his own lifetime. ■ GLASGOW BOTANIC GARDENS 730 Great Western Road, 339 6964, glasgow.gov.uk Gardens open daily 7am–dusk; visitor centre 11am–4pm. Free. A great place to relax in summer or take a brisk walk in winter, with a programme of events including stargazing, gardening talks and even theatre. Also look out for exotics and exhibitions in Kibble Palace Glasshouse and the vegetable, herb and flower gardens.
■ GLASGOW NECROPOLIS 50 Cathedral Square, 552 3145, glasgownecropolis.org Daily 7am–6pm. Free. Standing on a hill behind Glasgow Cathedral, the necropolis is the city’s own Père Lachaise with an obelisk to John Knox, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s first solo work, and breathtaking views to boot. Tours are offered by the Friends of Glasgow Necropolis, advance booking essential. ■ GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART 167 Renfrew Street, 566 1472, gsa.ac.uk/visit-gsa Interpretation space & shop open daily 10.30am–6.30pm; building tours 11am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm. Tours £8.75 (£7; under 18s £4; under 5s free). Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s astounding architectural masterpiece (and still a working art school) can be viewed throughout the year, with daily tours led by current students offering an in-depth look at the building’s design.
■ GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE 50 Pacific Quay, 420 5000, gsc.org.uk Winter opening hours until Sun 25 Mar: Wed–Fri 10am–3pm; Sat & Sun 10am–5pm; closed Mon & Tue; summer opening hours from Mon 26 Mar daily 10am–5pm. £9.95 (£7.95; under 3s free); Planetarium, Glasgow Tower or IMAX Science films £2.50 extra. The home of Scotland’s first IMAX cinema, as well as state-of-the-art facilities for youngsters to learn about science and technology through fun exhibits, science shows, workshops and talks.
■ HUNTERIAN MUSEUM & ART GALLERY 82 Hillhead Street, 330 4221 (museum)/ 330 5434 (gallery), gla.ac.uk/hunterian Tue–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–4pm; closed Mon. Free; Mackintosh House £5 (£3; under 18s free). Scotland’s oldest public museum, founded in 1807, houses collections relating to science, medicine,
Got an opinion? You can now Comment
on all our articles at list .co.uk
38 THE LIST 1–29 Mar 2012
■ KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY & MUSEUM Argyle Street, 276 9599, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. Twenty-two collections and over 8000 artefacts, from natural history, armour and weaponry to art from many different eras and touring exhibitions, all housed in a grand red sandstone building on the banks of the River Kelvin.
■ NATIONAL PIPING CENTRE 30–34McPhater Street, 353 0220, thepipingcentre.co.uk Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; Sat 9am–1pm; closed Sun. £4.50 (£3.50; under 16s £2.50; family £11). Home to the Museum of Piping, as well as teaching facilities, rehearsal rooms, a reference library, shop, food and accommodation.
■ PEOPLE’S PALACE & WINTER GARDENS Glasgow Green, 276 0788, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Palace: Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon; Winter Gardens: daily 10am–5pm. Free. Located on Glasgow Green, the Palace gives an insight into how the people of Glasgow lived from the 1750s to the late 20th century, while next door the Winter Gardens house exotic plants and a café. ■ POLLOK HOUSE 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 0844 493 2202, nts.org.uk/property/pollok-house Daily 10am–5pm. Free (until 31 Mar only; fee will apply from 1 Apr). Set within Pollok Country Park, this 18th-century house holds one of the best collections of Spanish art in the UK, as well as traditional Edwardian furniture and decoration.
■ PROVAND’S LORDSHIP 3 Castle Street, 276 1625, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. The oldest house in Glasgow, and one of only four surviving medieval buildings, restored to its 17th century finest. There is also a medicinal garden with the intriguing Tontine Faces stone masks.
■ RIVERSIDE MUSEUM 100 Pointhouse Place, 287 2720, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. A rebooted version of the Transport Museum housed in a cutting edge piece of architecture by Zaha Hadid. The recently acquired South African locomotive is the largest exhibit in the Glasgow Museums’ collection.
■ SCOTLAND STREET SCHOOL MUSEUM 225 Scotland Street, 287 0500, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. Another wonderful building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the museum details the history of the country’s education system from the time of Queen Victoria right through to the swinging 60s. ■ THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MUSEUM Hampden Park, 616 6139, scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–5pm. Stadium tour or museum entry £6 (£3); combined
ticket £9 (£4.50). Located inside Scotland’s national football stadium a couple of miles south of the city centre, this museum displays all kinds of memorabilia and offers tours of the stadium itself. ■ ST MUNGO MUSEUM OF RELIGIOUS ART & LIFE 2 Castle Street, 276 1625, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. Situated across the road from the Provand’s Lordship, this museum holds artwork and historical artefacts exploring the role of religion in people’s lives, promoting understanding
and respect between faiths. FREE Curious Until Wed 1 Aug. The Museum has
DAYS O U T G r e a t i d e a s
collaborated with a wide range of community groups from across Glasgow to tell the stories of some of the many and varied objects in Glasgow Museums’ vast collection - from jewellery and paintings to games and musical instruments.
■ THE TALL SHIP AT RIVERSIDE 150 Pointhouse Place, 357 3699, thetallship.com Daily 10am–5pm. £5 (£4.50; one child free per paying adult, additional children £3). Step aboard the Glenlee, one of only five Clyde-built ships still afloat today. Learn about the maritime history of the area through talks, tours and costume days.
EDINBURGH
■ CAMERA OBSCURA & WORLD OF ILLUSIONS Castlehill, 226 3709, camera- obscura.co.uk Daily 10am–6pm. £10.95 (£9.95; under 16s £7.95; under 5s free). The ‘camera’ is a giant periscope inside a Victorian rooftop tower on the Royal Mile, giving an entirely different 360° perspective on Edinburgh. The building also contains three galleries and lights up at night. ■ DEEP SEA WORLD Battery Quarry, North Queensferry, 01383 411880, deepseaworld.com Mon–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat & Sun 10am–6pm. £13 (£11; under 15s £8.75; under 3s free; family £38–£42). From seals to piranhas, this marine life centre has a petting area and underwater tunnel so you can get to grips with the deep. Approximately a 20-minute drive from Edinburgh.
■ EDINBURGH CASTLE AND NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Castlehill, 225 9846 (info)/ 668 8081 (bookings), edinburghcastle.gov.uk / nms.ac.uk/war Daily 9.30am–5pm. £14 (£11.20; under 16s £8.20). Perhaps Edinburgh’s most visible landmark, the Castle perches on top of a rocky outcrop at the head of the Royal Mile, and includes ceremonial rooms, fortifications, dungeons, and Scotland’s Honours or crown jewels. Inside, the National War Museum (nms.ac.uk) delves into the past 400 years of the country’s military history. Reconstructing Lives Fri 9 Mar–Feb 2013. A moving look at those who have lost limbs in war, whether military or civilian, and the advances in medical technology from the 16th century to the present that have helped them to cope. ■ THE EDINBURGH DUNGEON 31 Market Street, 240 1001 (info)/ 0871 423 2250 (bookings), thedungeons.com Mon–Fri 11am–4pm; Sat & Sun 10am–5pm. £9.20–£16.20 (under 16s £5–£12). A grizzly look into historical Edinburgh, with actor-led tours and rides, just above Waverley Station. Just be careful in the cannibal caves . . .
■ EDINBURGH ZOO Corstorphine Road, 334 9171, edinburghzoo.org.uk. Daily 9am–5pm. £15.50 (£13; under 16s £11; under 3s free). Visitors can see the headline grabbing giant pandas, the famous Penguin Parade and over 1000 other rare and interesting animals and birds at this site three miles west of the city centre.
■ GEORGIAN HOUSE 7 Charlotte Square, 0844 493 2118, nts.org.uk/property/georgian-house. Until Sun 25 Mar daily 11am–4pm; from Mon 26 Mar daily 10am–5pm. £6 (£5; family £11–£16). Step back to the age when the affluent moved out of the squalor of the Old Town to the spacious grandeur of buildings like this in Edinburgh’s wealthy New Town. ■ HOLYROOD PARK Holyrood Park Road, 652 8150, historic-scotland.gov.uk. Open at all times; Holyrood Lodge Information Centre daily 9.30am–3pm. Free. The main entrance to this large royal park, east of the city centre, is flanked by the Palace of Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament Building. Its main feature is Arthur’s Seat, an 823-foot hill which has a number of smaller peaks and ponds surrounding it.
■ MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD 42 High Street, 529 4142, edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venues/muse um-of-childhood Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun noon–5pm. Free. Kids can learn about the toys, clothes and lifestyles of children of the past in this Royal Mile museum. Nostalgia for grown-ups guaranteed.
■ MUSEUM OF FIRE 76–78 Lauriston Place, 659 7285, lothian.fire-uk.org/museum Mon–Fri 10am–4pm; closed Sat & Sun. Free. The museum inside this fire station tells the story of the oldest fire brigade in the UK, formed in 1824. See genuine artefacts including horse-drawn fire engines and early motor models.
■ MUSEUM ON THE MOUND The Mound, 243 5464, museumonthemound.com Tue–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat & Sun 1–5pm. Free. Hosted inside the Bank of Scotland’s head office, this museum is all about money. Learn how money has evolved over the past 4000 years or try cracking a safe.
■ NATIONAL MINING MUSEUM SCOTLAND Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, 663 7519, scottishminingmuseum.com Until Tue 27 Mar daily 10am–4pm; from Wed 28 Mar daily 10am–5pm. £7.50 (£5.50; children free). Nine miles south of Edinburgh, this museum is one of the best-preserved Victorian collieries in Europe. Learn about the life of a miner by taking a tour around the site. ■ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789, nms.ac.uk Daily 10am–5pm. Free. Renovated in 2011, this national beacon of culture has exhibitions on natural history, science and technology, Scottish history, art and design and world cultures in galleries surrounding a beautiful naturally-lit atrium space. Fascinating Mummies Until Sun 27 May. £9 (£7.50; children £6; family £26). Including treasures from the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, this exhibition looks at the complex and intriguing rituals surrounding death in Ancient Egypt. FREE See Scotland By Train Fri 16 Mar–Sun 24 Jun. A collection of beautiful Scottish railway posters, depicting some of the most spectacular scenery in the country in a distinctive style.