The Riverside Museum Glasgow
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When the children and I were up in Scotland for half term one of the days out I planned was to The Riverside Museum in Glasgow. We last visited as a pit stop on our way further north ten years ago and I was looking forward to spending a full day there rather than the rushed hour or two we had last time.
Where is the Riverside Museum?
The Riverside Museum is in Glasgow, backing onto the River Clyde. It’s a popular part of the city, near the OVO Hydro Arena, the Glasgow Science Centre and the docks. There’s parking on site – at a maximum charge of £10 for the day – and it’s easy to find, with satnav but also with plenty of signposts along the route. It took us about 40 minutes to get there from where we were staying.
What is the Riverside Museum?
The Riverside Museum is an award-winning technology and transport museum that is free to visit. It’s home to Glasgow’s transport and technology collections, put together over the centuries and reflect the part Glasgow has played in the world through its contributions to things like shipbuilding, train manufacturing and engineering.
Things to do at the Riverside Museum
We really enjoyed our day at The Riverside Museum and found so much of interest to all of us. It was fairly busy when we visited – which was to be expected for a free attraction during school holidays – but it’s a great size to be able to explore even on the busiest days without any issues.
As soon as we walked into the museum we were blown away by the sheer number of exhibits and how much there was to look at. With vehicles at ground level and others above, there was something to look at in every direction – and we could not wait to get started!
Little Man’s favourite parts were the trains. With an ingrained love of Thomas the Tank Engine, he loved seeing the South African Loco 3007 – the largest exhibit at the Riverside Museum. It was built in Glasgow but exported to South Africa where it was used until 1987.
This was just one of many trains at the Riverside Museum and Little Man loved discovering them all, especially the ones we could climb aboard and see more of how they worked. Everything at Riverside is so engaging, with interactive exhibits, videos, audio clips and more.
One of our favourite parts of the museum was the recreated street scene, Main Street, where we got to wander along a cobbled street lined with shops, houses, and even a subway station dating from the 1890s through to 1930. It was like stepping back in time and reminded us of our days exploring Blists Hill and Beamish. It was very much like a living history museum.
We were blown away by the wall of cars, featuring 31 of Glasgow Museums’ most well-loved cars, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom ll, an Isle of Arran postal van, Porsche 911, and a BMW Isetta bubble-car. Seeing this was a real wow moment.
Another big wow was the motorbike wall with 21 motorcycles showcasing over 100 years of motorbike design, with commuter bikes, off-road bikes, super bikes, tourers and speedway.
Right next door to this was the bicycle velodrome that we could see from below on the ground floor or get closer to up on the mezzanine level of the museum. It was great to see so many bikes from through the ages.
LP loved the city tram, complete with a showcase of dresses worn by women when using the trams to get to their favourite dances. The tram was just one vehicle that we could see inside – with so many open to sit inside too.
One of the first things we saw when we entered the museum was the Ford Granada Police Car. We always spot police cars because of our family police connection and it was great to see this one! Used by Strathclyde Police in the 1980s, it was full of police paraphernalia.
Special events at the Riverside Museum
The Riverside Museum have special events on throughout the year and when we visited the Retro Reels exhibition was on – with no extra cost. The exhibition has brought 1980s movie magic to the Riverside Museum!
Retro Reels showcases so many props, stories, and creativity that shaped a generation, featuring replica props from some of the most iconic films of the decade – from Star Wars to Doctor Who and Back to the Future. It was a great addition to an already fantastic day out.
Food and drink at the Riverside Museum
As well as a few food trucks outside the museum, the Riverside Café is also open inside for breakfast, sandwiches, hot dishes and more plus there’s plenty of spots to sit and enjoy a picnic – which is what we did on our visit.
We loved exploring the Riverside Museum and when we were finished we popped to The Tall Ship Glenlee which is docked just behind the museum on the river. This has a small fee to pay for entrance but is well worth adding to a trip to The Riverside Museum.
I feel like it would take multiple trips to fully explore everything that The Riverside Museum has to offer but we definitely did a lot of it on our trip! It’s a great place for all ages and a fantastic day out for free – with the only cost being the car parking. We will definitely visit again in the future.
Open daily, The Riverside Museum is a fantastic day out. Find out more over on their website and for reference the museum address is: 100 Pointhouse Road, Glasgow G3 8RS
