National Museum of Rural Life

The National Museum of Rural Life sits on Wester Kittochside farm between East Kilbride and Carmunnock. The site includes a 50,000-square-foot museum and visitor centre, the Georgian farmhouse, species-rich fields and a 24-hectare events area. It is run by National Museums Scotland and grew from the former Scottish Agricultural Museum founded in 1949. The farm was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland in 1992 by Margaret Reid, the last of ten generations of Reids who farmed here from 1567 to 1992. The Reids played a notable part in the covenanting troubles and once rescued the Kilbryd Parish Flag at the Battle of Bothwell Brig. Their Georgian house, built in 1782–1784, still shows its 1950s interior and has gable finials once thought to deter witches. Visitors walk past the restored horse engine that powered the corn barn’s winnowing machine. The bothy once housed a German prisoner of war during the Second World War. A simple doocot above the cart shed reflects the farm’s long history, while two stathels keep hay dry and rat-free. Outside, a whin-stone crusher and the 1858 field names map add further layers to the story of this working farm turned museum.