list.co.uk/aroundtown
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 artefacts 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 Thu 31 Oct; from Fri 1 Nov 10am–6pm. £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,
Museums & Attractions | AROUND TOWN
01383 411880, deepseaworld.com Mon–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat & Sun 10am–6pm (last entry 1 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–5pm. £16 (£12.80; children £9.60; under 5s free). 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 explores 400 years of the country’s military history. Arctic Convoys Until Mar 2014. A look at the merchant and military ships that sailed the Arctic during WWII and the thousands of seaman who endured life on board.
■ THE EDINBURGH DUNGEON 31 Market Street, 240 1001 (info)/ 0871 423 2250 (bookings), thedungeons. com Daily 10am–5pm until Thu 31 Oct; from Fri 1 Nov Mon–Fri 11am–4pm; Sat & Sun 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–5pm until Thu 31 Oct; from Fri 1 Nov 9am–4.30pm. £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 at this site three miles west of the city centre. ■ 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–4pm. £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. Mary, Queen of Scots Until Sun 17 Nov. A fresh look at the enigmatic monarch, looking at the drama of her story through personal items, documents and portraits. Hunting the Higgs Boson Until Feb 2014. An exploration of the quest to understand the fundamental structure of the universe, told using personal artifacts from Prof Higgs and CERN. ■ 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 Thu 31 Oct; from Fri 1 Nov Wed–Sun 10am– 5.30pm; closed Mon & Tue (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. Robot Collection Until Sun 27 Oct. Have a swatch at the pretty impressive collection of robots from film and TV, including Terminator, Kryten, C-3PO, Iron Man and a whole lot more.
17 Oct–14 Nov 2013 THE LIST 47