Top 10 Free Visitor Attractions in Scotland

Scotland is a awash with world-class visitor attractions, and with so many to choose from it can be difficult to decide where to go. Entry charges might also be a factor when it comes to planning your itinerary. The good news is that Scotland has a whole host of first-rate attractions that you can visit free of charge. Here is our guide to ten of the best:

1. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

One of the most visited museums in the UK is a free family winner. The grand Victorian building itself is an attraction with its voluminous entrance hall sure to wow first time visitors. There is everything inside from statues of Elvis and the instantly recognisable work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, right through to a Spitfire aircraft dramatically suspended in the air and a landmark painting by Salvador Dali.
www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/our-museums/kelvingrove/Pages/home.aspx

2. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Re-opened in 2011 after a quite brilliant refurbishment the graceful Victorian museum and the more modern annex have now been seamlessly moulded together to create one of Europe’s finest cultural attractions. The more modern section focuses on the story of Scotland, while the older edifice is an intriguing hotpotch of anything and everything set around an airy Victorian atrium. Exhibits range from stuffed big game and a whale skeleton through to Jackie Stewart’s old racing car and Dolly the Sheep. For families the playroom on the ground floor is priceless with all sorts of aural and visual trickery to inspire and entrance young minds.
www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland

3. Cairngorms National Park

The UK’s largest national park is a must visit. It is completely free too. The park sports everything from strolls by the River Spey and lochside ambles around Loch an Eilean, through to mountain biking over old drovers’ roads and hiking some of the highest mountain peaks in the UK. You can pay to ride the mountain railway up the slopes of Cairngorm or just hike up in about an hour, meaning you’ll have saved some money to reward yourself with a congratulatory drink afterwards.
http://visitcairngorms.com

4. National Galleries, Edinburgh

Some cities don’t even have one world-class art gallery. Edinburgh is fortunate to host a trio and they are all free to enter these days. The landmark National Gallery on the Mound packs in all the big names from Raeburn to Raphael. Over in the West End the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and adjacent Dean Gallery focus on the modern and even ultra modern with an eclectic range of both art and mediums. The recently re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery meanwhile has portraits of everyone from Flora McDonald through to Sir Walter Scott.
www.nationalgalleries.org

5. The McManus, Dundee

Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum boasts eight galleries laid out across two floors. The collection and its themes span 400 million years and also tell the story of how the City of Dundee evolved from a small settlement, through its ‘Jute, Jam and Journalism’ Golden Age, to become the city it is today. Gallery highlights include ‘George Paterson’ by Henry Raeburn, what is thought to be the earliest painting of a football match, ‘The Village Ba’ Game’ by Alexander Carse, Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s masterpiece ‘Dante’s Dream on the Day of the Death of Beatrice’ and some seminal works by the Glasgow Boys.
www.mcmanus.co.uk

6. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

This green oasis has at its centre Scotland’s largest loch, which isn’t just for passively admiring. The suitably prepared can hike for free up Ben Lomond or tackle the stretch of the West Highland Way that cuts a swathe through the eastern shore of Loch Lomond on its route towards the Highlands. You can mountain bike for free too. Elsewhere in the park one of the most scenic drives in Scotland awaits between Aberfoyle and Callander in the Trossachs.
www.lochlomond-trossachs.org

7. The Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Coatbridge

This Lanarkshire attraction was already free to enter for everyone, but until May 31 for every paying adult two kids can enjoy a trip on their vintage tram for nothing if they download the online voucher. Elsewhere there is the exhibition hall with lots of hands-on activities for the kids as well as working 1950s machinery. Guides are also on hand to take groups down the re-created mine and visit the miners’ cottages. The playpark is geared for everyone from tots to teens and there is also a picnic area for sunny days.
www.visitlanarkshire.com/attractions/historic-heritage/Summerlee-The-Museum-of-Scottish-Industrial-Life

8. Glenkiln Sculpture Park

This inspirational sculpture park in Dumfries & Galloway features six sculptures dramatically positioned in a moorland setting around Glenkiln Reservoir. They were assembled between 1951 and 1976 by local landowner Sir William Keswick. We are not talking obscure pieces by local young artists. Here for free you can admire ‘Saint John the Baptist’ by Auguste Rodin, ‘Visitation’ by Jacob Epstein and a quartet of works by Henry Moore.
www.walkhighlands.co.uk/galloway/glenkiln.shtml

9. Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Aberdeen’s story is inexorably bound up with the sea. This award-winning museum tells the narrative of the city’s crucial relationship with the North Sea. It is located on the historic Shiprow and incorporates Provost Ross’s House. The collection covers everything from shipbuilding and fast sailing ships, through to fishing and the port’s history, as well as displays on the all-important North Sea oil and gas industry.
www.aagm.co.uk/Venues/AberdeenMaritimeMuseum

10. The Fergusson Gallery, Perth

Scotland’s newest city, Perth, is home to this brilliant private gallery set in a highly distinctive round tower, which used to be a waterworks. The collection celebrates the life and work of John Duncan Fergusson and Margaret Morris, who were great pioneers of modern art and dance. Fergusson is today celebrated as one of the finest Scottish Colourist painters, while Morris is recognised for her seminal work in modern dance amongst other talents.
www.culturepk.org.uk/museums-and-galleries/the-fergusson-gallery/