Museum of Rural Life
The Museum of Rural Life was surprisingly fun and entertaining! It’s one of the more “kid friendly” sites around and from tractors to livestock, it kept everyone busy. Here’s what all we did!
Naturally, the tractors were a big hit. The museum section was cleverly done, with educational and kid friendly areas interspersed with sections of historical importance that would be interesting to adults. From corners about bees and flowers to miniature landscapes of the local area, each section was carefully designed.
From a parent’s perspective (as someone who usually ends up rushing through bits of museums and sees about half of it because, hello four kids) it was nice that we could move through it and still absorb some of the history and importance of the area, while being dragged to the next best thing.
But the highlight was absolutely the tractor ride. It’s only a half mile or so up to the working farmhouse and fields, and while it’s an easy walk, the tractor ride up made everyone’s day. Reserve the tractor ride up and then you have the option to ride it back down the hill or walk back. And did I get a picture of the tractor ride? No. No, I did not, because naturally the youngest decided that would be the best moment for an epic blowout. Memorable.
Moving on. The farm provides real animal smells along with the real animals and phew, that was a reminder for our kids that animals are more than the soft, cuddly creatures they see in books! Stinky? oh yes! But also super cute. Visiting in May offered the opportunity to see the the new calves, one of which was only a few days old and so sweet! All the calves had “V” names, and Vincent was a firm favourite!
The Georgian farmhouse was an incredible time capsule of life in the 1950s. From the tiny kitchen to the lounge to the bedrooms, each room meticulously showed both history and the family styles.
So many incredible details in each room! An older couple walking through after us were commenting on tiny things they remembered from their childhood. From a curling stone as a doorstop, to the bright purple violets in the entry, the painstaking care in each room showed a meticulous eye for detail and an overall lived-in atmosphere. You half expected the original residents to come bustling around the corner sometimes.
It wouldn’t be a National Trust site without a garden. The blue and white garden in front of the house obviously attracted my attention, in part because of the lovely colour scheme, and the lovely blue Himalayan poppies which are surprisingly difficult to grow. Down the path, the kitchen gardens were just coming into season and the cheery scarecrow was doing his best to keep the birds away.
We opted to walk back down to the museum instead of taking the tractor, and it afforded us an opportunity see the lovely draft horses and highland cows along the way. Mind the nettles along the path though!
The play park, appropriately tractor themed, was a huge hit with the kids and we packed a picnic lunch and the cafe inside offered a wide variety of food and hot and cold drinks as well. A lovely little gift shop was by the entrance, which shockingly I never made it in to.
Tickets are free to National Trust Scotland members and there are plenty of events on, especially during the summer holidays.