If you’re on a road trip from England to Scotland and you want to break your journey in the north of England then we’ve already recommended stopping at The Angel of the North near Gateshead so now it’s Scotland’s turn.
In Outlander, Claire Randall drove all the way to Inverness in the Scottish Highlands before travelling back in time to the 18th century. You however, can stop much further south than Claire and travel back to anywhere from 12,000 BC to 1950 AD.
Biggar is a one-horse-town sort of place. It’s in South Lanarkshire en route from Somewhere Further South to Somewhere Further North or vice versa. For the mathematically minded, it’s at the right-angle of an isosceles right triangle with the upper two vertices on Glasgow and Edinburgh. There are some interesting little shops, a good pub, a couple of fish-and-chip shops and … a wonderful gem of a museum called, rather boringly, the Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum.
Like many small museums, this one manages to pack-in a wide variety of exhibits about life in this part of the world since pre-historic times. Unlike many small museums, this one manages to present these exhibits in a modern, family-friendly way with a clever use of multi-media and hands-on experiences.
As part of the time travel experience, you can see a facial reconstruction of the Bronze Age “Thankerton Man”, ponder over a map of Europe with Britain still connected to the continent, feel a real reindeer skin, marvel at detailed models of early settlements and Roman forts, admire Godiva the Coventry Climax Engine and take a stroll through a realistic recreation of Victorian shops – a chemist, a clockmaker, a dressmaker, a grocer, a printer, a shoemaker and a toyshop. Here you can meet another time-traveller, Rex Mars (pictured above), try out some Victorian toys or even try on some period costumes. You can also play telephonist at a working telephone exchange switchboard to set-up a call between friends or strangers in two of the shops.
Where? The Biggar and Upper Clydesdale Museum, 156 High St, Biggar, ML12 6DH, Scotland. Tel.: 01899 221 050
Why? Unless you have a rocket car like Rex Mars, break your journey and time travel for an hour or so. Don’t forget to visit the colourful toilets before resuming your journey.
If you’re heading to the Scottish capital, be sure to check-out my Edinburgh tips.