Scottish Maritime Museum (Irvine)

North Ayrshire | Irvine | Museum | ★★★

[The Linthouse Engine Shop]

Scotland's "cathedral of engineering" forms the centrepiece to Irvine's attractive Harbourside, within easy walking distance of the town centre. This vast (unheated) building, the glass-roofed Linthouse Engine Shop, was salvaged from a Govan shipyard in 1991. Today it's home to an extensive array of boats, historic exhibits and modern displays about Scotland's maritime history. There's even more to the site however: the museum owns several vessels afloat on the nearby River Irvine, adjacent to its shop and café, and a restored shipyard worker's tenement flat. The whole area is extensive and impressive, even before you add in the museum's sister site at Dumbarton.

[Irvine Harbourside buildings]

Location & info

📌 Scottish Maritime Museum (Irvine) ★★★
Irvine Harbourside, 10-min walk southwest of Irvine town centre, G.R.: NS 314383 ///vast.raves.sums
Open daily - check website for tour times | £8.50 adult / free for accompanied children



[Irvine beach, a short walk downstream from the museum]

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk: Livingston's jaw-dropping waterfall

Image
West Lothian | Livingston | Short walk | ★★★ ⚠ Route currently impassable - see red text below [Linn Jaw lower falls] What springs to mind when someone mentions Livingston, West Lothian? Sprawling road junctions, retail parks, 1960s architecture... how about a splendid waterfall? Under a mile from the town's southernmost suburbs, the Camilty Water drops into a short but beautiful gorge sharply at odds with the gentleness of the surrounding farmland. Two substantial waterfalls and several smaller ones tumble into the depths; the largest is actually fed by a crumbling mill lade (the mill no longer exists) but this isn't obvious from below. Parking is limited, but the walk from the nearest road begins promisingly. The last few hundred metres of the route are however a bit sketchy: stepping stones across a side burn, and a very slippery slope to reach the best viewpoint - more details below. Important The house and gardens alongside the path are someone’s home, and alth
More

Walk: Hindhope Linn - Kielder's best kept secret?

Image
Northumberland | Byrness | Short walk | ★★★ [Hindhope Linn] "One of the area's best kept secrets" , promises the Kielder Forest Park trails guide - yet this beguiling little waterfall walk starts under a mile from one of the main roads between Scotland and England. Close to the confluence of the Blakehope and Hindhope burns, a slender waterfall tumbles over a mossy lip into an intimate amphitheatre amidst Scots pine and larch. The waymarked loop also takes in a few other minor waterfalls and tracts of mixed woodland, making a good introduction to the vast area of forest stretching south from here, past Kielder Water as far as Hadrian's Wall. And we didn't see a another soul on our late May visit. [Steps through the forest] 📌 Walk: Hindhope Linn - Kielder's best kept secret? ★★★ Start / finish at car park at Blakehopeburnhaugh, off A68 1 mi south of Byrness, G.R.: NT 785002 ///rocks.event.paces ▶ 2 km / 1 mi | ▲ 30 m | ⌚ Short | ⬤ Easy Feat
More

Dunsapie

Image
City of Edinburgh | Duddingston | Viewpoint | ★★★ [Arthur's Seat & Dunsapie Loch from Dunsapie summit] This relatively neglected small summit on the east side of Edinburgh 's Holyrood Park is a perfect alternative to Arthur's Seat for those short on time or stamina. Dunsapie rises 145 metres above sea level, but can be accessed from car parks on Queen's Drive just a few dozen metres below - though walking from Duddingston or Willowbrae is a great alternative for those seeking a slightly longer route. Dunsapie's rocky summit features some distinctive rocky outcrops and offers a superb outlook both over East Lothian and west to Arthur's Seat - the latter busy with families sledging on our recent, snowy visit. The artificial reservoir of Dunsapie Loch hugs the foot of the hill at road level, and is itself a very pleasant spot; otters have frequently been spotted here in recent months. [View east from the summit] Location & info 📌 Dunsapie ★★★
More