Located just outside of Glasgow, in East Kilbride, is the Museum of Rural Life. The museum is free to National Trust Members or if purchasing a ticket, it can be used for multiple entries over the year, which is a great deal!
There is an indoor museum on site with lots of hands on activities and a working farm with lots to see and do.
We have visited a few times and every time we have easily spent the whole day entertained here! Inside the museum there is lots of farm machinery from through the ages to look at.
There is an interactive discovery area with lots of puzzles, games and dress up. They also have bee hives and for £1 you can adopt a bee, name it and you are given an adoption certificate to take home. My three have some fabulously named bees on the adoption poster!
“Bumblebert”
“Dave”
“Cricket”
There is a lovely cafe inside the museum and during seasonal holidays the learning team run additional activities included in the entry price. We recently visited over the Easter Break and the kids were able to make a newspaper plant pot and choose some seeds to plant and take home to grow. There was also a storyteller with puppets performing in the small theatre.
Outside the museum there is a small wooden playpark and the access path up to the farm. A tractor runs every 1/2 hour taking you up to the farm. Its a fun, bumpy ride but you have to book your space (for free) at the main desk before you ride. We tend to book our space for later in the day as soon as we arrive to make sure we get a spot. If you don’t manage to book a space its only a 5-10 minute walk up the hill.
It is a working farm so if you are lucky you might see a variety of different tasks being carried out by the team. We’ve been around when the sheepdogs have been herding the sheep, the Clydesdale horses have been in the stables being fed and at 3pm every day you can watch the dairy cows being milked. The pipes are all see-through so its very cool to see the milk flowing through.
In the spring they have lambs, piglets and calves which you can get really close to for the kids to have a good look. They have a dairy herd, sheep, hens, highland cows and Clydesdale horses so plenty of animals to meet. The staff we have met on the farm have all been really friendly and happy to answer questions.
The farmhouse is open to visitors and it has been restored to how it would have looked in the past. You can wander round the rooms seeing how life in the past was and at the very top of the house there is some more dress-up clothes.
To get back to the museum you can take the tractor back down on a first come first served basis or you can walk the path down the hill.
Key info
Parking:
There is a large car park on site
Toilets:
Available at the museum and up at the farm
Cafe:
Available in the museum serving a full lunch menu as well as coffee and cakes
Top Tips
Remember to book your tractor ride when you arrive
It is an easy walk back down the hill from the farm if you don’t want to wait for the tractor
National Trust members get in for free
Check at the main reception for any additional activities taking place during your visit
Wear wellies if you are going up to the farm
At 3pm every day you can watch the dairy herd being milked