Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

This fantastic destination ticks ALL the boxes for a family attraction! Free admission, free parking and all-weather facilities make for an ideal day out in central Scotland. Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life is situated in Coatbridge, once an important centre in the industrial heartland of Scotland. Created on the site of the old Summerlee Ironworks, the museum incorporates the main workshop of the former Hydrocon Crane factory.

The museum has grown in to a modern and thriving visitor attraction and with a four- star attraction rating from Visit Scotland, it’s the perfect setting for an unforgettable family day out. The museum has a huge array of social history and interactive displays, complete with some working machinery and the main exhibition hall and outdoor engineering pavilion are a vibrant, noisy and hands-on introduction to the past.

Scotland’s mining heritage can be experienced at the mine tour where you can go down the mine shaft and experience the dark, cramped and damp conditions which the miners used to endure. Visit the miner’s row and find out how miner’s families lived, comparing the basic conditions of the 1840s to the relative comfort of the 1980s.

The transport heritage of Scotland is represented by a replica of the world’s first iron-hulled vessel – the canal barge “Vulcan”, a celebration of the skill and techniques of the builders of the time who pioneered the construction of this type of craft. Public transport is represented by Summerlees Edwardian tram. Once the mainstay of transportation in many of Scotland’s towns and cities, the tramcar provided affordable and reliable transport for everyone and you can make your own journey on this, the only heritage tramway in Scotland.

Kids can let off steam at the award-winning playpark, complete with climbing ropes and a trapeze, and the café offers a variety of hot and cold food, drinks and snacks to help you refuel.