A friend who lives in Edinburgh recommended that I go to the Museum of Scotland. Since it is right next door I ended up at the Royal Museum of Scotland instead.

After a quick wander around I decided that this museum was not for me and headed next door to my original destination. I have to admit that I am not big on museums that focus on areas that are not local. I would rather see Chinese vases when I finally get to China, for example. That said, this is my personal preference, you may feel differently and really like this museum. If you like musuems that focus on local culture and history, head next door to the Museum of Scotland.

If you do like this kind of thing, the musuem's promotional material states that ‘highlights include the Ivy Wu Gallery of Chinese, Japanese and Korean art, and culture and the World In Our Hans Gallery which looks at the environment and issues of conservation and pollution.’ Entry is free, which means that you can check the place out and lose nothing since it is so central.

Practical stuff:
Tel: 0131 247 4219
You can get more info at www.nms.ac.uk.
The musuem is open every day.

A friend who lives in Edinburgh recommended visiting this museum, and I am glad she did. If you would like to spend an afternoon contemplating Scotland as an entity on its own, then this museum will interest you as much as it did me.

The museum is free, which of course adds to its appeal for budget travellers.

The museum focuses on the history and culture of Scotland, from the early Celts, the Battle of Culloden, right through to what is happening today. The museum strikes a good balance, providing information without being overly academic.

The free sound guides available at the entry desk provide a lot of interesting information. But...they are triggered by walking past an electronic sensor and can get it wrong, which is both confusing and annoying. If you want to avoid this, you can join a free guided tour at 11:30am and 2pm (and 6pm Tuesdays). Apparently, there is also a free themed tour at 3pm, but I am not sure what this involves.

Their website is www.nms.ac.uk

Practical stuff:
Open:
Mon. – Sat. 10am – 5pm
Tues. 10am – 8pm
Sun. noon – 5pm
Tel: 0131 247 4422
Fax: 0131 220 4819

Everything you ever wanted to know about Scotland right from pre-historic times to the present. You could easily spend a couple of days here. The amount of information is overwhelming. It's impossible to soak it all in. The Museum is modern, although somewhat awkwardly organised. We had a bit of trouble finding our way around the maze of multiple levels and galleries, so we pretty much gave up on attempting to see exhibits in the intended order.

Approaching the Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, I reflected that its structure has echoes of Scottish castles and defensive brochs. Its cathedral grade cement gives it religious connotations. Its setting in the old town of Edinburgh is itself historical.

The museum contains the history of Scotland – the beginnings at level 0. The birth was protracted, stretching over millions of years. Six hundred and fifty million years ago icebergs in southern seas growled around and over Scotland. The rocks bear witness. Over geological time, continents drifted like iceflows - joining and breaking up. Gradually Scotland migrated northwards.

The Iapetus Ocean tossed and foamed between the continent containing Scotland (North America) and that containing England (Europe). The continents fatefully attracted each other. Moved closer they squeezed the ocean. In the Vanishing Ocean display, ocean floor mud squeezed by the continental drift thrusts upwards and forms the Border Hills between Scotland and England. Crumpling Scotland shows the shock wave from the collision with England and Wales throwing up the Caledonian Mountains. Their eroded remains form the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland and England reached and passed the equator - pity they couldn’t have stayed there! Rocks and fossils on display reflect the changing climate and landscapes. Early land and lake life includes underwater displays of Devonian times - today’s fossils appear again alive and swimming.

Volcanoes and tropical seas moves the clock to Carboniferous times - around 340 million years ago, when corals lived in the warm coastal seas. A fossil from then found in West Lothian, Scotland called Westlothiana is perhaps the earliest known reptile?

In Carboniferous times central Scotland gushed volcanic smoke and lava – beats our amateurish attempts at pollution! Eventually the lava broke down into fertile soil. Other legacies of the ancient landscapes are coal and oil. In the sections Tropical coal forests and the high lava plateaus their creations are explored.

Few creatures lived in the great Scottish desert of 260 million years ago, but one we know of is the extinct dicynodont.

In Jurassic times the sea flooded much of the land, as the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean formed. In the new seas swam ammonites, squid-like belemnites and plesiosaurs. Dinosaurs roamed the land.

The geological displays finish with the Ice Ages, which ended only a few thousand years ago. Huge glaciers scraped and gouged the landscape into the shapes we know today. But of course that's not the end of the story. Scotland's landscape is eroding and changing.

From the Museum's roof, the evidence of the truth of this tale can be seen. Several extinct volcanoes are visible, including Edinburgh Castle Rock and Arthur's Seat. To the south are the Border Hills formed by the collision between Scotland and England.

Recently mankind arrived and plundered the resources created and we arrive at the present day. I reflect, maybe we are at the starting point for another great drama called reach for the stars, or perhaps dead planet earth?

Entry is free so go along.