Highland Folk Museum
Highland Folk Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Discover how Highland people lived, worked and played at this award-winning museum. Experience life portrayed from the early 1700s to the mid 1900s. Find the difference between a “cruck” and a “croman”, smell the “reek” of a peat fire, relive early school days and life on the farm, or just enjoy a “blether” and reminisce with our friendly staff. Extensive play area, shops, café, and picnic sites throughout grounds. A great family day out for all ages. Free admissionOpen Easter to end of October – 3 to 6 hour visit recommended
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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  • Annmarie N
    South Shields, United Kingdom39 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent way to explore the history of Scottish Folk
    We really enjoyed our visit to the museum. To see the kind of homes people lived in and businesses they ran from the 1700s right up to the 1950s was fascinating. I couldn't believe the entry was free although they do ask for a donation which we were happy to give. We were also given a guide book which was very informative. There is quite a walk between the main part of the museum and the 1700s houses which looked well maintained. We visited on a weekend and there were volunteers in costume in the 1700s town with fires burning which gave it an authentic feel. We would have liked to have stayed longer as we didn't get a chance to explore all the buildings or have lunch but rural bus services are few and far between. We were there almost 2hrs and could have easily stayed an extra 1-1.5hrs but the next bus was 3hrs later and the museum would have closed by then. If the bus service was more frequent we would have definitely stayed longer.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 24 September 2023
  • Margaret C
    14 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good outdoor & indoor museum to visit.
    Have visited,the outside museum,here before & enjoyed looking & also reminiscing,about items in some of the houses. This time,we were able to see new dwellings,that had been completed. We also,pre-booked,to visit "The Store"which is the large indoor museum. This was a guided tour,of many items,that have been donated or bought,which was very interesting. Lots of information,on many of the objects & a wide assortment,with lots of memories,from bygone days. Well worth a visit. Outdoor wooden play area,beside cafe too. Unfortunately,the sweet shop was closed,which was fun,to buy sweets from before. Keep in mind,that the cafe opening/closing times,are not the same,as displayed.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 26 September 2023
  • Yvonne O
    33 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very special museum
    Free entry and only £2 for the car park. Bought a guide book and gave a donation more than worth it for this very informative museum. The 1700 section Baile Gean was used in the Outlander series 1 episode Rent, where Jamie Fraser had his shirt ripped off!! Staff member in authentic costume was very knowledgeable.Beautiful wood carvings are in the pinewood section. Had we been more adventurous we could have a go in a coracle The 19th century to 1940’s half is so diverse from a railway halt to a shinty pavilion. There were even a pair of highland coos Lucky and Sprout. Only disappointment the sweet shop was not open. I shared some Cadbury buttons with a disappointed child.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 October 2023
  • Gilly
    Edinburgh, United Kingdom46 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A must see when in the area!
    Stunning location, loads to see. Entry is by donation. Part of the experience was closed due to severe flooding - as the river had burst its banks. However we still managed to spend a good few hours wandering around at our leisure. Well laid out with lots of interesting things to see. Staff very chatty and helpful. Car and coach parking, cafe and toilets on site. Lots of space for children to run free in a safe environment too. Will definitely go back.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 October 2023
  • Becky B
    Liverpool, United Kingdom366 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Outlander fan heaven
    Our second visit the first was 2 years ago, so I was extremely excited to visit when the whole site was open. If you're an outlander fan, you'll recognise the village from the episode 'rent' in season one. This truely is a place not to miss the staff are absolutely incredible and happy to discuss and answer any questions
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 5 April 2024
  • Jackie F
    66 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun Visit
    This is a great outdoor museum. We really enjoyed our visit here. The volunteers were friendly. Free to enter and the ability to leave a donation which we did. Took a good few hours to walk round everywhere and the young grand children found it very interesting and enjoyed finding the easter bunnies. We had a great lunch in the café as well. The best place for us was the village but liked it all. Didn't manage to see any red squirrels in this visit. Would definitely recommend.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 7 April 2024
  • springside
    Kilmarnock, United Kingdom77 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    WONDERFUL MUSEUM
    We arrived at the museum to a lovely warm welcome from the lady on the booth at the gate. Then we met Helen and handed over our donation of my mums Highland Dress Outfit to the museum. We arrange to meet Helen once we had finished our tour of the museum and headed off in the direction of the Township. We passed through the wooded area and admired the wonderful animals which had been carved out of fallen trees. They were so real looking. The Township was wonderful each house was so authentic and Beth was so helpful friendly and knowledgeable. She even helped us with the times of the buses back to Aviemore. Thank you. We then headed back visiting the Tailors, School, Post Office, Station Waiting Room, All the different era's of houses and the farm. During our visit to the farm we met Sandy MacDonald who told us about the farm. He was a friendly, knowledgeable and lovely man. We had a nice chat about the MacDonald clans and I told him my Granny was a McDonald from Muff in Londonderry now in Donegal. We were blown away with each building. This is the most fascinating, interesting and wonderful museum we have ever visited. We then met with Helen Liz and Heather to discuss our donation. What a wonderful collection of items they have stored. Thank ladies you for all your help. If you are ever in the area please visit HIghland Folk Museum because if you dont you will miss this gem of a place. At the end of your visit you can treat yourself to a lovely cup of coffee and cake in the museum tearoom.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 6 May 2024
  • Jane P
    Ipswich, United Kingdom518 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent
    We were recommended to stop off here on our way from Aviemore to Pitlochry. We spent several hours walking around the site, which is all outside, and found it fascinating. Some of the buildings have people in period costume explaining more about the era and how life was lived in the past. We enjoyed in particular learning how to spin wool to create yarn and having an inkpen writing lesson in the School. We were told that admission is free, which is technically correct but there is some expectation/encouragement to give a donation. We felt this was more than justified and were very happy to pay our way.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 25 May 2024
  • titch2208
    Aviemore, United Kingdom28 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    What a great gem, well worth a visit.
    We went to the vintage day on Sunday 26th May. It poured with rain in the morning but it didn't dampen our experience. It was great to see the vintage vehicles and walk around the indoor exhibition. What a collection of things to see, brought back many memories of time spent with my grandparents at their terraced home in Staffordshire. We were happy to make a donation to the museum. Keep up the great work you are doing. We will visit again when we are next in the Highlands. So much more that we were unable to see yet.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 30 May 2024
  • Nel
    Toronto, Canada234 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This attraction is NOT TO BE MISSED. The word 'Museum' is misleading. It's actually a window to the old world of Scottish life.
    Amazing, visit.Not to be missed. Drove past it for 6 months & finally visited just b4 we left. Detest going to museums, but this wasn't one! The entrance projects a small attraction but it's huge & great fun. Children will simply love it. There is a play area too. The old man( forget his name) was a lovely guide. Do not miss this. Have enough time to go through the village at leisure. I WANT TO GO BACK again & again. Left a piece of my heart in Scotland & a big chunk of that in this attraction!
    Visited July 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 31 May 2024
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,317 reviews
Excellent
1,016
Very good
238
Average
41
Poor
17
Terrible
5

920KateR
Higher Kinnerton, UK44 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2021 • Family
We visited on a sunny late afternoon with our teenage children. We had visited before and only had a couple of hours but I would recommend allowing at least a half day to properly enjoy this interesting outdoor museum. Very accessible history as you wander between reconstructed buildings, each a different slice of a previous era of highland life. The separate medieval settlement is particularly atmospheric.
Written 3 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Judith G
Solihull, UK84 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Family
Wow this is an amazing collection of historical buildings and artefacts. Lots to see and would recommend buying the guide book for interesting information. You can go into most of the buildings and I particularly liked the schoolroom and houses. The Township, which is set in a much earlier part of history, is also very interesting and a very entertaining and informative guide gave us a talk about some aspects of life in the township. We spent about 3 hours at the museum in total. There is a fair bit of walking but we managed to push a wheelchair around. You pay by donation - they say it costs over £11 per visitor to run and it is well worth giving this amount or more. Covid precautions are good.
Written 2 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

peachy352
Newcastle75 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2021 • Family
We stopped here as somewhere to break our journey on the way up to Skye. It's a hidden gem, we ended up stopping here on our way back too, as we didn't leave ourselves enough time to look round. The site is really big, split into two main areas of different time periods. The staff we encountered were all extremely helpful and friendly and the site was extremely well maintained.
The cafe had a simple range of food but it was all freshly prepared and very reasonably priced. Definitely recommend a visit to this place, we'll be coming back
Written 7 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Random Jenny
Gourock, UK252 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Couples
We had a nice visit to the highland folk museum, dogs are not allowed onsite but they kindly offer a holding kennel area should you choose to use this.
The museum is far more spaced out than we expected so allow enough time to see it.
There is a lovely 15 minute Forrest walk to one section of the museum to visit the old township village that was used for filming some Outlander scenes.
The lady and young lad at the township in traditional costume were so friendly and happily chatted about the particular spots used in outlander and gave some insider information about some of the filming techniques used.
The museum is open air but even so they have gone to the trouble of placing covid signs and regulations throughout, all very nicely done and well thought out.
Entry to the museum is via booked online time slots and whilst entry is free donations can be made.
I cannot imagine anyone visiting this lovely location and not making a donation shame on you if you don’t leave something.
There are onsite toilets cafe and shop all were very nice and again with the necessary covid rules in place.
The only reason not to award 5 stars was the sheer lack of information at the various attractions, there was little if any signage to explain the story behind the buildings and evoke any sense of true highland history.
We left feeling we really hadn’t learnt anything! This was such a shame as it is a lovely location.
We understood a lot of the staff to be volunteering and most seemed to be doing so in a meeting and greeting role at the entrance, perhaps they could be made better use of by being placed at the attractions themselves to give talks and info.
We would happily return to take friends and family and would hope to see better information signs in future.
Written 16 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter S
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020
We have visited the Highland Folk Museum on many occasions and it never disappoints. I guess the highlight for us this year was the highland village and just being out in the fresh air in a SAFE and really well organised environment, set in the stunning highland backdrop. Loved by our family and thoroughly recommended for all ages.
Written 8 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LynseyD
Scotland, UK405 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Couples
The Highland Folk Museum is well worth a visit. Remember to book your tickets online before you visit to guarantee entry (tickets are free but there is a suggested donation on the website).
This is a lovely open air museum with friendly, knowledgeable staff. We spent around 2 hours here walking around but you could easily spend double that length of time.
Nice outdoor play areas for the kids and a nice gift shop on site too.
I would definitely visit again
Written 30 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Samiya7
Deerfield Beach, FL1,209 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Couples
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this outdoor museum that was sprinkled with buildings, equipment, displays and life in general from back in the day. Be prepared to walk as everything is really spread out (easy flat walking) and it took us 2 hours to see the museum. There were some people in the buildings to answer questions and provide some educational commentary. They also have a gift shop and cafeteria. I took a point off because I was so excited to have a scone for breakfast with my cappuccino and while they called it a scone it was really a sweet raisin roll that felt and tasted like a hamburger roll - definitely not the texture of any scone I have ever had in my life. Disappointing. The coffee was good. There is a nice playground for the wee ones. The museum is free but encourages an 11£ donation per person. Well worth a visit.
Written 27 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EGM68
Gateshead, UK213 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
Very interesting place to visit and incredible value for money as you essentially pay what you can afford as it's donation based. Reminded me of Beamish museum, with the collection of old buildings that had been rebuilt on the site and presented as they would have been back in the old days. There's plenty to see, with the site stretching for a mile or two in either direction and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Places such as this really bring history to life and are so much more informative than merely reading a history book. Recommended.
Written 30 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rosey A
Sheffield, UK222 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2024 • Friends
Suggested by the owner of the B & B where we were staying, we made the journey to the Highland Folk Museum and it was well worth it! The open-air museum has a range of historic buildings including: school house, post office, garage, church, etc but the recreated 'township' is a particularly enjoyable experience. Overseen by a member of staff in traditional dress, they provide the interesting and informative historical background to the settlement. Visitors can enter the township dwellings and truly experience what life was like for the inhabitants 200 years ago. Although we did not visit the cafe, refreshments are available (soup & sandwiches and drinks) and there is an opportunity to purchase confectionery from the ye olde sweet shop. There are also plenty of open spaces and picnic tables throughout the site to enjoy your own packed lunch and there is a play area for children. The car park charge is £2 and the entrance to the museum is a suggested donation of £11-12 and in my opinion, the visit is well worth the car park fee and the suggested donation which is contribution to the sustainability and development of the museum. I would recommend allowing 2-3 hours for a leisurely visit but visitors need to be aware that raincoats and umbrellas will be required if the weather is inclement and sunhats and suncream necessary if the weather is sunny and hot as, apart from the cafe and the various museum buildings, there is not shelter from the weather.
Written 10 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

hmwhite59
London, UK7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021
What a surprise this was. Don't think stuffy old building, this is outside and so interesting. It covers a large area and consists of buildings of various trades through the ages. The people who work on site are knowledgeable and friendly.
Hard to believe this venue is run on donations rather than an entry fee. If you have a free few hours pop along.
Written 11 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Highland Folk Museum - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

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