National Mining Museum Scotland — Attraction in Scotland

Top day out. Came here with my partner and one of her pals. We learnt a lot and spent I think around 5 hours here in the end! The guided tour was excellent, though a warning that depending on the guide it may involve a bit of standing still, so if you find that tricky, bring a seat. They do have wheelchairs to borrow and I think I saw stools to borrow also.

On our tour, as I expect on many, there were people visiting who'd worked in mines before so they were able to add their experience into the mix and the guide had excellent knowledge of other mines, particularly in Scotland, and could relate it all back to the history of Lady Victoria Colliery.

There is a fun treasure hunt for kids (or immature adults) to do, and if you find all the cats, you get a prize!

The cafe had decent grub cooked-to-order, and they were great at accommodating one of our group who had an allergy. Plenty of choice and super friendly service.

There's a gift shop, stocked with products from local makers, around 50% mining themed, 50% local producers making ceramics etc. Decent prices, and we found ourselves a couple of nice gifts. No tacky fridge magnets though, which scuppered our plan to buy another one for a family member! There's a small kids corner with seats and books.

We walked here via the railway station, which maybe took us 10-15 minutes, stopping to read the information boards on the way. The route is wheelchair-accessible, and a nice way to get there rather than walking along the main road (which isn't...

I don't know how my family and I have missed this place before. We only recently came across it and decided to book the tour with a miner and let me say, we were not disappointed. We were lucky enough to have the fantastic Sinclair Sutherland as our guide. He was charming, knowledgable, great with my two boys and he just made the day for us all. Thank you Mr Sutherland! You can pay a little less per person and go around without the guide and at your own pace, but I'd definiely recomend paying that extra few pounds, it is worth it! You get access to the pit head, taken through some of the buildings, down into a makeshift pit and there are 2 exhibition floors and much more. There is a lovely little cafe with gorgeous coffee and some really tasty cakes. We had taken our own lunch with us but the smell of the soup almost made me want to eat again! You can spend an hour here or 4, it depends on how much you explore and how much you read. It's fantastic though, one of our most enjoyable days out in a while. Some points to note: The interactive areas, outdoors close early, 30 minutes before closing time. Unfortunately, we left them until last and missed out on them. It was the only disappointing part of our day, had someone mentoned it, we'd have done them earlier. There is a gift shop with some beautiful and very unique gifts. There is a lovely little cafe but there are also picnic benches around. There is a huge car park...

Fantastic museum to visit and I would definitely recommend the tours. They last about an hour and a half and there is a fair bit of walking involved but it's mostly on solid ground with a few staircases. They are run by ex miners and boy do they know their stuff! John Kane led our tour and it was the highlight of the day - he was a remarkable storyteller and I learnt a lot about the history of mining and it's place in our Industrial Heritage. Don't worry about going down the mine itself as it isn't really that scary and there is no stooping or crawling involved unlike some of the tours I've been on! I would say it is suitable for all ages. We also went for lunch in the cafe which was very reasonably priced and had a good selection of lunchtime snacks and meals. There is plenty of parking nearby and it's all free. If you like learning about Industrial Heritage then I would definitely recommend this museum. Perhaps not so entertaining for tots - more suitable for older children. We managed to get a Groupon coupon for entry so got it half price but I still believe it's excellent value for money even if you need to pay a...