Scottish Agricultural Museum
The Scottish Agricultural Museum has undergone a series of improvements and is now known as the National Museum of Rural Life
When you tour rural Scotland you will find many picturesque farms – many of which date back over hundreds, if not thousands, of years. These farms each have a unique story which makes them extra special to the people who live on them. While you may not be able to visit each and every farm in the area, you may well want to get a taste for farming in historical Scotland. The Scottish Agricultural Museum is the perfect place to do just that.
Situated between Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Agricultural Museum features a remarkable collection of farming machinery and implements taken from farms around the country. In the past this interesting display of foot spades, tattie diggers, flauchters and tractors were about all there was to see at the museum. These implements were combined with an extensive display of photographs and a sort of workshop where visitors could learn how straw rope was traditionally made. Today however, the museum is far more interesting. It has since become one of the country’s national museums and has been renamed the Museum of Rural Life. It’s even more extensive display of farm implements has been combined with a working farm where visitors can get a good idea of what went into farming during the 1950s. At a time when horse-drawn ploughs were being exchanged for tractors, this was a very interesting period for farmers. What sort of lives did these people live and what implements did they use. How did the work they do affect the land that we see today? All these questions can be answered at the Scottish Agricultural Museum.
Apart from giving children the opportunity to see farm animals up close and personal, the museum has a number of great features that can be enjoyed by everyone. There is wheelchair access for the disabled, a great shop and a wonderful café where you can replenish your appetite. Baby changing facilities make life easier for the moms and an art gallery displays a number of great farm-related artworks. The theatre and education center are also a great place to get more familiar with farm life through the ages. So visit this excellent museum and discover a world of living history.