SCOTLAND'S CULTURAL HERITAGE

The designation of Glasgow as European City of Culture in 1990 was no accident. Despite its past reputation as an industrial centre, the city is bursting with art galleries and museums. And Glaswegians tell you that their home has more parks than any other city in Europe. The Burrell collection, opened in 1983, in Pollock Country Park, is an emblem of the city's cultural status: its composition and extent is quite bewildering-from prehistoric times to the Victorian era. Social history is the forte of the people's palace on Glasgow Green, and it is told in a grass roots sort of way. The museum of Transport is a must for train and tram enthusiasts. Edinburgh's status as a cultural centre needs no introduction. Suffice to say that the famous Royal Mile is lined with interesting museums, among them the offbeat museum of childhood, which attracts hordes of adults as well as children.

The gallery houses one of the most important provincial art collections in the UK, ranging from 18th century portraits by Raeburn, Hogarth, Ramsay and Reynolds to 20th century works by Francis Bacon and Ben Nicholson. There are excellent examples by Impressionists such as Monet, Bonnard and Toulouse-Lautrec and work by E.A. Hornel, one of the 'Glasgow Boys'. There are watercolours, sculptures and a significant collection of domestic Scottish silver, and glass from north-east Scotland. The gallery presents a lively programme of special exhibitions. There is a reference library and a print room. Built in 1885 to a neo-classical design, the building has a unique collection of 28 granite pillars in an Ionic style surrounding an Italianate courtyard. Extensions were made in later years. Facilities include a coffee-shop, sales area and ramped access throughout for wheelchairs.

The award-winning museum is situated in a beautiful parkland in the middle of Glasgow, and its collection boasts over 8000 artefacts ranging from textiles to furniture, ceramics, stained glass and objects d'art-all gifted to the city by Sir William Burrell, a shipping magnate, in 1944.
The exhibits cover an astonishing range from the ancient world to the 20th century. There are antiquities from Iraq, Egypt, Greece and Italy: Egyptian stone vases, Assyrian reliefs, Greek ceramics and Roman glassware. The collection features Chinese ceramics dating from Neolithic times until last century, and they are complemented by jades and bronzes. There are Japanese prints, Eastern carpets and a comprehensive collection of north European decorative arts. The tapestries and stained glass work are world famous. Facilities include a restaurant, lecture theatre, room for children, library and study facilities and accommodation for scholars. There is ramped access to all facilities.

The capital city's permanent fine art collection is housed in this building opened in 1980 behind Waverley station. The collection comprises over 3000 drawings, prints and sculptures from the 17th century to the present day, and there are regular exhibitions drawn from throughout Britain and overseas. An example in 1990 was the Art of Lego, a specially commissioned display of Lego works of art by artists, designers, architects, engineers and scientists. Others included an exhibition of funeral masks, ceremonial knives, necklaces and idols from Peru; and one on folk art from Nova Scotia, Canada. The gallery's main strength lies in works by late 19th and 20th century Scottish painters. There is a licensed café, a shop and facilities for disabled people. Parties are welcome, but they ought to book.

This has been acknowledged as Britain's finest civic art collection. It opened in 1902 and includes work from all the major European schools. Categories include The Classical Tradition, the Art of the Church, the Realist Tradition and Art and Design, the Victorian Age and the Modern Period. The collection has French painting of the Barbizon, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods, and there are examples of work by the 'Glasgow Boys' and the Scottish colourists. The museum contains internationally important examples of European armour, Scottish and Egyptian archaeology, as well as a display of Scottish prehistoric artefacts. The natural history exhibition illustrates geology and dinosaurs; and there is a good collection on British birds. The museum has a series of competitions and activities for juniors, including an annual young persons' art contest. There is access for disabled people, a refreshment area and a shop.

This museum of the Highlands, established in 1881, covers social and natural history, archaeology and culture. It has an excellent collection of bagpipes and Jacobite relics. The lively 'Man in the Landscape' exhibition on the ground floor explores aspects of the environment in and around Inverness. Upstairs there is a mixture of weapons from the Highlands and Scottish contemporary art. The gallery also boasts an important collection of Highland silver from Inverness, Tain and Wick dating from the mid-seventeenth century until the present day. Local industry is portrayed in a reconstructed Inverness cottage of the 1930s and a taxidermist's workshop. There is partial access for disabled people, and a toilet for those confined to wheelchairs. Other facilities include refreshments, a shop and contemporary exhibitions.

This was the first museum in the world to be devoted solely to the history of childhood. A treasure house of historic toys, dolls, dolls' houses, hobby items, children's costumes, nursery equipment and so on, it has been called the worlds noisiest museum. It was extended in 1986 into a former Georgian theatre, and completely renovated. Noteworthy exhibits include a pierrot serenading the moon, dated 1880; and a selection of Bisque dolls. There are also special areas devoted to children's games, and audio-visual and education rooms. There is partial wheelchair access, plus a toilet for disabled people, and sales area.

This mecca for transport enthusiasts mirrors sixty years of Glasgow trams and the glory-days of the River Clyde. The museum interprets the history of transport on land and sea, and the exhibits range from trains to buses, from trams to Scottish built cars and from yachts to warships. There are horse drawn vehicles, railway locomotives, fire engines, bicycles and motor cycles. One of the star attractions is a simulated Glasgow street with 1938 shop facades and period vehicles parked on the cobbles. There is a reconstruction of Merkland Subway Station on the Glasgow Underground the third oldest underground network in the world. There is a showroom of cars through the ages, and the cycle display's centrepiece is the world's oldest pedal bike, invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan. There are models of ships reflecting the Golden Age of shipping: ocean liners, paddle steamers and sailing ships. Full facilities for disabled people are available, as well as a fast-food bar.

The gallery, one of Europe's most distinguished of its size, is housed an imposing neo-classical building by William Playfair. The collection includes old Masters, Impressionist and Scottish paintings-works by Titian, Raphael, Rembrandt, Turner, Constable, El Greco, Van Gogh, Gauguin; and the Scottish masters, Ramsay, Raeburn and Wilkie. The gallery also possesses around 19,000 prints, watercolours and drawings. Every January the Vaughan Bequest paintings by J.M. Turner are put on show. The gallery hosts a series of temporary exhibitions and occasional concerts. School parties are welcomed. Facilities include a shop and a sales area; there is wheelchair access throughout.

PEOPLE'S PALACE