The List

The Scottish Maritime Museum

The award-winning Scottish Maritime Museum is a great day out. Home to Scotland’s nationally recognised collection of maritime heritage, a new national art collection and the Scottish Boat Building School, the Museum is housed wtthin Scotland’s ‘Cathedral of Engineering’ – the vast, A listed Linthouse which was formerly the Engine Shop of Alexander Stephen and Sons in Govan. Visitors will discover some of Scotland’s most historic vessels, inventions which influenced maritime history across the world and the country’s largest collection of shipbuilding tools and engineering. As well as the chance to step onboard MV Spartan, the only surviving Scottish-built ‘puffer’ in Scotland, other highlights include SY Carola, possibly the world’s oldest seagoing steam yacht; MV Kyles, the oldest Clyde-built vessel still afloat in the UK; Powerful, a hundred year old William Fife III sailing yacht and the modern BOLT18, an all electric boat and yacht tender, which holds the current British Water Speed Record (Unrestricted Electric Runabout Class) of 32.77 mph.

What's On @ The Scottish Maritime Museum

Scottish Maritime Impressions

Scottish Maritime Impressions

19 May 2026 - 9 Aug 2026

This photography exhibition captures the dramatic beauty of Scotland’s coast and celebrates the rich maritime and cultural connections between Poland and Scotland. As both a sailor and photographer, Bartosik’s work is rooted in a deep connection with the sea. Each year, he travels from Poland to Scotland to explore and photograph the Highlands and wild coastlines, capturing the raw beauty of the Scottish seascape. The exhibition is presented under the Honorary Patronage of the Mayor of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, with support from the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh and local sponsors.
The Beach Today – a Year of Sea, Sky and Stone
This striking new exhibition by Scottish artist and photographer Christina Riley celebrates the wonders to be found along Ayrshire’s coastline through photographs and beachcombed items collected during Lockdown, in Spring 2020. Walking the seven miles of uninterrupted shoreline from Irvine to Troon each day, Christina became attuned to the natural and manmade objects found in the sand and how they changed each day as the tide continuously washed away and replenished them. With each repeated visit, particular colours, patterns or forms stood out. Finding delight in the endless curiosities of our oceans soon became a daily ritual. Gathering beachcombed treasures and taking photographs of the shoreline turned into Christina’s visual diary of the hazy, uncertain Lockdown days and a celebration of the endless awe and wonder there is to discover beneath our feet. Christina also founded The Nature Library in one of the Museum’s tenement flats in April 2024. The exhibition will include a specially curated collection of her Library books exploring the exhibition themes of sea, sky and stone. The Beach Today will also feature cabinets of pebbles, sea glass, bird bones, pottery shards, a clay inkwell and shells, both pearlescent and barnacle-scarred. Alongside the exhibition, there will be a Meet the Artist event and family drop-in sessions, details of which will be announced soon. The Beach Today is also part of the Scottish Geology Festival. Hosted by the Scottish Geology Trust, the Festival includes guided walks, talks and fascinating geological exhibitions and marks the Tercentenary of the birth of James Hutton, the 'Father of Modern Geology'.
The Beach Today – a Year of Sea, Sky and Stone
This striking new exhibition by Scottish artist and photographer Christina Riley celebrates the wonders to be found along Ayrshire’s coastline through photographs and beachcombed items collected during Lockdown, in Spring 2020. Walking the seven miles of uninterrupted shoreline from Irvine to Troon each day, Christina became attuned to the natural and manmade objects found in the sand and how they changed each day as the tide continuously washed away and replenished them. With each repeated visit, particular colours, patterns or forms stood out. Finding delight in the endless curiosities of our oceans soon became a daily ritual. Gathering beachcombed treasures and taking photographs of the shoreline turned into Christina’s visual diary of the hazy, uncertain Lockdown days and a celebration of the endless awe and wonder there is to discover beneath our feet. Christina also founded The Nature Library in one of the Museum’s tenement flats in April 2024. The exhibition will include a specially curated collection of her Library books exploring the exhibition themes of sea, sky and stone. The Beach Today will also feature cabinets of pebbles, sea glass, bird bones, pottery shards, a clay inkwell and shells, both pearlescent and barnacle-scarred. Alongside the exhibition, there will be a Meet the Artist event and family drop-in sessions, details of which will be announced soon. The Beach Today is also part of the Scottish Geology Festival. Hosted by the Scottish Geology Trust, the Festival includes guided walks, talks and fascinating geological exhibitions and marks the Tercentenary of the birth of James Hutton, the 'Father of Modern Geology'.

↖ Back to all venues