Eyemouth Maritime Museum

On a recent and very pleasant visit to Eyemouth we had enough time and the place is compact enough to visit all of the museums and attractions in a weekend.

The Maritime museum is situated on the same side of the harbour as our caravan site and having walked along the beach and watched the seal in the harbour, we decided to have a look.

The museum is right on the side of the harbour so care should be taken when walking along the side of the museum as there seems to be a lack of fencing or barriers between walkers and water. However, the walk along the side of the museum is an interesting one as there are lots of different types of boats moored by the museum.

The museum itself is an interesting shape when viewed from the outside, as it does look like a large ship sitting on the road next to the water. In fact, it is actually on what seems to be the main road in Eyemouth so it would be very hard to miss. Once inside the museum we are immediately at the admission desk and were given some information about the place by the gentleman who was taking the money.

When we visited, there was an exhibition called 'The Smugglers' and not surprisingly, it was about smuggling in the UK in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are plenty of different boats with plagues and information boards telling us what their name is and the type of boat they are. There are also life size models strategically placed either by or in the boats, close to the mock windows, at tables etc.

There are some stairs to the upper level where the gentleman showed Little Miss how to ring the very loud bell which was found on ships; she certainly enjoyed the loud noise it made although she did comment on how heavy the bell was. This upper level is the gun deck of the frigate and has an authentic sound effect surround to add atmosphere and impact to the display. This enables visitors to experience the sounds of canons, thunder, crashing waves, creaking wood and the footsteps of the sailors as they went about their everyday
duties, and the noises are loud!




OPENING TIMES...


March-August: Daily from 10am-5pm
September-December: Wed-Sun from 11am-4.30


ADMISSION...

Adult £2.50
Concessions £2
Family (4) £6
Accompanied children under 5



ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS...

Harbour Road
Eyemouth, Scottish Borders
TD145SS

Tel: 01890 751020


VERDICT...

I DON'T HAVE AN ESPECIALLY GREAT INTEREST IN BOATS BUT GIVEN THAT WE WERE IN Eyemouth and that this was one of the attractions on offer, it seemed churlish not to visit. I was glad to have done so. The whole place is well set out with interesting information- just enough to make sense but not so much that I lose what the thing is trying to tell me. There are plenty of different kinds of boats to hold the interest of the visitor and I liked the way in which the scenes were set with people sitting on boats and also settings within houses.

The fact that it was all about smugglers added a bitof local colour and because they are linked via the theme of smuggling we were given discount tickets for Gunsgreen house- a definite bonus.

The staff are helpful and informative and the whole place is worth a visit if you are in this neck of the woods.

Thanks for reading

Daniela xx