National Museum of Rural Life

About the museum

The National Museum of Rural Life stands at Wester Kittochside farm, between East Kilbride and Carmunnock. The farm was worked for about 400 years by ten generations of the Reid family, and Mrs Margaret Reid gave it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1992. Its Georgian farmhouse dates from the 1780s, and its rooms are kept as they were in the 1950s.

The museum opened in 2001 as the Museum of Scottish Country Life, as a partnership between National Museums Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland and several public and private funders. It extended the work of the Scottish Agricultural Museum, which had been founded in 1949 and was last based at the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston. National Museums Scotland now runs the site.

Today the visit combines a modern exhibition building with the working farm and its outbuildings. Galleries trace how Scottish farming changed from hand tools to machinery, and the collection includes a large number of tractors and combine harvesters. Clydesdale horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and hens live on the farm, and the grounds include fields, hedgerows, a play park and a picnic area.

Highlights

• Large collection of tractors and combine harvesters
• Georgian farmhouse furnished as in the 1950s
• Working farm with Clydesdale horses and farm animals
• Farm Explorer tractor-trailer ride to the farm
• Play park and picnic area
• Galleries on the history of Scottish farming

Permanent exhibitions

• Inside the museum – Galleries on the development of Scottish farming and country life, with tools, machinery and a large collection of tractors and combine harvesters.
• Farm and farmhouse – A working farm with Clydesdale horses and other farm animals, and a Georgian farmhouse furnished as in the 1950s.

Founded

2001

Operated by

National Museums Scotland

Admission & discounts

Every ticket works as an annual pass: it allows unlimited visits for 12 months from purchase, with valid ID. Tickets should be booked online in advance. Members of National Museums Scotland and National Art Pass holders are admitted free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The galleries are reached by lifts and a continuous ramp runs around the museum building. The farmhouse has no lift, so its upper floors can only be reached by stairs. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge on the day from the information desks but cannot be booked. Sensory backpacks can be borrowed from the information desk at the shop, and visual stories help visitors prepare. The path to the farm is gravel and suits pushchairs and electric wheelchairs, though it is steep in places; the tractor-trailer has a wheelchair lift. There are 12 Blue Badge bays in the car park. Assistance dogs are welcome; other dogs must be on a lead outdoors and may not enter the buildings.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly
• Playground / play area

The museum offers family events and holiday activities, a tractor-trailer ride to the farm, a play park with a musical arbour and basket swing, and a picnic area. The path to the farm suits pushchairs. Dogs are not allowed in the play park and picnic area.

Getting there & parking

The farm is a walk of about ten minutes from the museum along a path overlooking the fields, or a ride on the Farm Explorer tractor-trailer.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The Shielings Café is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00, with seating inside and takeaway food, and is reached from the ground floor by stairs or a lift. The museum shop sells gifts and books. Visitors may bring their own picnic to the outdoor picnic area.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit