AROUND TOWN | Museums & Attractions
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. Still Sounds Until Sun 11 Aug. Margaret Moore’s walk-through sound installation, which brings local history to life through recordings of the memories of former pupils. ■ THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MUSEUM Hampden Park, 616 6139, scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–5pm. Stadium tour £7 (£3.50); museum entry £6 (£3); combined ticket £10 (£5). Located inside Scotland’s national football stadium, 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 artifacts exploring the role of religion in people’s lives, promoting understanding and respect between faiths. ■ THE TALL SHIP AT RIVERSIDE 150 Pointhouse Place, 357 3699, thetallship.com Daily 10am–5pm. Free. 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 9.30am–7pm until Sun 30 Jun; from Mon 1 Jul 9.30am–9pm. £11.95 (£9.95; under 16s £8.75; under 5s free). The ‘camera’ is a giant periscope inside a Victorian rooftop tower on the Royal Mile, giving a spectacular 360° perspective on Edinburgh, plus there’s interactive optical fun galore. 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 (last entry one hour before closing). £13 (£11; under 13s £9; 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–6pm. £16 (£12.80; children £9.60; under 5s free). Perhaps Edinburgh’s most visible landmark, the Castle includes ceremonial rooms, fortifications, dungeons, and Scotland’s crown jewels. Inside, the National War Museum delves into the country’s military history. Arctic Convoys Opens Sun 26 May. A look at the merchant and military ships that sailed the Arctic during WWII and the thousands of seaman who endured life on board.
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£7.45). Beneath the Royal Mile lies a warren of hidden closes where citizens of Edinburgh lived and died in the 16th and 17th centuries. The underground tours are led by guides in the character of real people who lived in the close. ■ ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH Inverleith Row, 552 7171, rbge.org.uk Daily 10am–6pm. Free; glasshouse entry £4.50 (£3.50; children £1; family £9) (last admission 5pm). These gardens, founded in the 17th century, cover over 70 acres and are just one mile from the city centre. There are glasshouses and cafés within the grounds, as well as high-profile art exhibitions at Inverleith House. Jalan Jati (Teak Road) Until Sun 7 Jul. The imagined history of a teak bed found in a Singapore junk shop back to the tree from which it was made, illustrated through prints, collages and a short film. Leafing through Natural Scotland Exhibition Until Wed 31 Jul. An exhibition of images and objects connecting books to nature.
■ ROYAL OBSERVATORY VISITOR CENTRE Blackford Hill, 668 8404, roe.ac.uk/ vc Entry by arrangement or at Public Astronomy evenings (weekly, Fri 6.30pm & 8pm). Public Astronomy evenings £4 (£3). See the stars through the research centre’s magnificent copper domes at weekly astronomy evenings.
■ ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA Ocean Terminal, Leith, 555 5566, royalyachtbritannia.co.uk Daily 9.30am– 4pm until Sun 30 Jun; from Mon 1 Jul 9.30am–4.30pm. £12 (£10.50; under 18s £7.50; under 5s free; family £35). Take a guided tour of the ornate floating royal residence (and the naval quarters below) . ■ SCOTCH WHISKY EXPERIENCE 354 Castlehill, 220 0441, scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk Daily 10am–6pm; entry is as part of a tour. Tours £12.75–£52 (£10.25–£26; under 18s £6.50). Learn more about Scotland’s tastiest export with a tour and tasting session.
■ SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT Horse Wynd, 0800 092 7500, scottish. parliament.uk Opening hours vary according to whether Parliament is in session, see website for details. Free. See Spanish architect Enric Miralles’ magnificent (and controversial) Holyrood building, take a tour of the interior, sit in on a debate or look at the artwork on display. ■ SCOTT MONUMENT Princes Street Gardens East, 529 4068, edinburghmuseums.org.uk Daily 10am– 7pm. £4. Commemorating Sir Walter Scott, this is the largest monument of any writer in the world. Take all 287 steps to the top for a great view of the city, plus occasional exhibitions.
■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE AND JOHN KNOX HOUSE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579, scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk Mon–Sat 10am–6pm; closed Sun. Free entry to SSC; John Knox House £4.25 (£3.75; children £1; under 7s free). A stylish contemporary building appended to the 15th-century home of Protestant reformer John Knox, housing materials relating to Scotland’s rich oral culture.
■ SURGEONS’ HALL MUSEUM Nicolson Street, 527 1649, museum. rcsed.ac.uk Daily 10am–5pm (last entry 4.15pm). £5 (£3). Home to permanent collections on pathological anatomy, the history of surgery and dentistry, as well as temporary exhibitions, talks and occasionally gruesome hands-on events.
REAL MARY KING’S CLOSE The Real Mary King’s Close recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Well, its current management did – the close itself is actually around 400 years old. But to mark a decade of historically intriguing underground tours (and dubious claims about paranormal activity), the organisers have commissioned a new tartan especially for the close and put in an interactive gallery where you can hear the stories of more characters from Edinburgh’s past. Mary King herself? She was a bit of an uppity madam, as it turns out. (Charlotte Runcie) ■ Real Mary King’s Close, 2 Warriston’s Close, High Street, Edinburgh.
■ THE EDINBURGH DUNGEON 31 Market Street, 240 1001 (info)/ 0871 423 2250 (bookings), thedungeons. com Daily 10am–5pm. £10.95–£16.20 (£10.50–15; under 16s £9.50–£12). A grizzly look into historical Edinburgh, with actor-led tours and rides, just above Waverley Station. With special opening hours around Hallowe’en ■ EDINBURGH ZOO Corstorphine Road, 334 9171, edinburghzoo.org.uk Daily 9am–6pm. £16 (£13.50; under 16s £11.50; 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.
■ 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 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 ON THE MOUND The Mound, 243 5464, museumonthemound.com Tue–Fri 10am– 5pm; Sat & Sun 1–5pm; closed Mon. 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 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. This national beacon of culture has exhibitions on natural history, science and technology, art and design and world cultures in galleries surrounding a beautiful naturally-lit atrium space. Amazing Amber Until Sun 8 Sept. This exhibition of fossilised tree resin contains that famous walking stick from Jurassic Park, as well as pieces from Myanmar, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and much more.
■ NATIONAL MUSEUMS COLLECTION CENTRE 242 West Granton Road, 247 4770, nms.ac.uk Visits by appointment only or with occasional tours. Following the redevelopment of the National Museum, two new collection buildings have also been added to the storage and conservation centre at Granton. From vintage motorbikes to whale and dinosaur bones – it’s all there. ■ OUR DYNAMIC EARTH Holyrood Road, 550 7800, dynamicearth. co.uk Daily 10am–5.30pm until Sun 30 Jun; from Mon 1 Jul 10am–6pm (last entry 1.5 hours before close). £11.50 (£9.75; under 16s £7.50; under 3s free). Take an interactive journey through the history of the earth. Go to the tundra or the bottom of the ocean, never being more than a stone’s throw from the Scottish Parliament and Arthur’s Seat. Alien Invasion Until Fri 28 Jun. An extraterrestrial exhibition featuring memorabilia from iconic sci-fi films and TV shows, including Star Wars and Doctor Who, along with a 360° film narrated by Rupert Grint.
■ PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE Royal Mile, 556 5100, royalcollection. org.uk Daily 9.30am–6pm (last admission 5pm). £11 (£10; under 17s £6.65; under 5s free). The official Scottish residence of the Queen, this baroque palace was once home to Mary Queen of Scots and now houses the great artworks and tapestries of its regal residents. ■ REAL MARY KING’S CLOSE 2 Warriston’s Close, High St, 0845 070 6244, realmarykingsclose.com Daily 10am–9pm. £12.95 (£11.45; children