Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

Situated in Coatbridge, an important centre within Scotland’s industrial heartland, Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life is built on the site of the old Summerlee Ironworks.

The main exhibition hall, created in the late 1980s from the former Hydrocon Crane works, now provides an excellent space for the museum’s displays and working machinery, including a huge winding engine from the former Cardowan Colliery.

Summerlee received a £10 million redevelopment in 2008, and today the museum is a modern and thriving visitor attraction.

Explore the exhibition hall – home to an amazing array of social history, working machinery and interactive displays, the exhibition hall is a fascinating, hands-on glimpse into bygone days. Don’t miss the outdoor engineering pavilion just north of the main hall.

Visit the Vulcan canal barge – the Vulcan is a replica of the world’s very first iron-hulled vessel, reflecting the skill of her builders whose techniques made this pioneering boat possible.

Take a ride on the tram – no trip to Summerlee is complete without a ride on the Edwardian tram! Get your tickets at the gift shop, sit back and enjoy the ride. The tram is wheelchair accessible. Don’t forget to pick up your tram ticket at the shop and, for a small fee, you can ride the trams all day.

Experience the mine tour and miners’ row – take a guided tour down the mine shaft and experience the dark, cramped and damp conditions in which miners used to work. This is obviously not suitable for everyone but there is plenty of other things to see and do. Above ground, visit the miner’s row and see how mining families lived, from the basic conditions of the 1840s to the comforts of the 1980s.

OPENING HOURS:

Summerlee is free to visit, and is open 7 days a week:

From 1 April through to 31st October, 10am to 5pm

From 1 November to 31 March, 10am to 4pm

ACCESSIBILITY:

Wheelchair accessible tram

Exhibition hall fully accessible

Lift to gallery space and Ironworks view pod

Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life Heritage Way

Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire

ML5 1QD

Call: 01236 638460 www.culturenl.co.uk/summerlee

Email: info@culturenl.co.uk