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Places to Visit in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire
Summerlee Industrial Museum
Heritage Way
Coatbridge
Lanarkshire
ML5 1QD
Tel: +44(0)1236 638460
Fax: +44(0)1236 638454
Email: click here
Summerlee Industrial Museum online: information and bookings
Summerlee Industrial Museum, the Scottish museum of industrial life, has now reopened following a £10m redevelopment supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund supported redevelopment of its main exhibition hall. The museum is a VisitScotland '4-star' rated visitor attraction.
Its 22 acres are based around the site of the 19th Century Summerlee Ironworks, a forerunner in the use of the highly successful and innovative hot-blast iron smelting process. It was the use of this process that led Coatbridge to fame and fortune as Scotland's 'Iron Burgh'.
After almost 100 years of operation, the works closed in the 1930s recession and the buildings were demolished. The site was then used for light industry until the early 1980s. Prior to the opening of the park in 1987, the site of the original ironworks was excavated and it can now be viewed from a special walkway.
Other main features of Summerlee are:
• Scotland's only electric tramway, offering rides on modern and Edwardian open-topped trams.
• A huge under-cover exhibition hall (the subject of the recent Heritage Lottery Fund £4.78m re-development award).
• Re-created addit mine and miners cottages. Experience the miners' cramped underground conditions and then see how they lived from the 1860s to the 1960s in the cottages' recreated room settings.
• Playpark for tots to teens. Segregated play areas allow fun for all ages on slides, swings, scramble nets and a rope slide.
There is also a separate exhibition gallery, tearoom and gift shop.
Facilities
• Gardens
• Picnic Area
• Children
• Car Park
• Electric Tramway
• Mine & Miners' Cottages
In case of alteration, please check prices, opening times and any specific important information before booking or visiting
