South Queensferry Museum

No visit to South Queensferry would be complete without a visit to this charming wee museum which tells the story of Queensferry's past and present.

Sitting on the main street overlooking the Firth of Forth, South Queensferry Museum boasts fabulous views of the bridges, and you can peek through the telescopes to get a good view of the local wildlife.

The exhibitions and artefacts give an intriguing glimpse into life in this ancient Royal Burgh. There’s information about its natural environment, social history, folk traditions and, of course, its connection to the bridges.

Here you’ll discover local traditions, a few of which have their roots in the ancient ferry crossing. Every August, the community comes together for Ferry Fair Week. Highlights include the parade through the town, wheelbarrow races and the Bellstane Walk. This is a traditional challenge in which men compete to carry two 80lb weights from the Bellstane, along the High Street and back to the Bellstane. The person who manages the furthest distance is proclaimed the Champion. No one has ever completed the full distance!

As part of Ferry Fair Week, the Burryman – a local man decorated with burrs - parades through the village visiting every public house at which he is given whiskey to drink through a straw. Legend has it that bad luck will fall on the village if the custom doesn’t continue. The museum is home to its very own Burryman costume named Frank which delights and frightens in equal measure!

The building itself has an interesting history, built in 1900 as the Viewpoint Temperance Hotel and later used as the Norwegian Naval Command during part of the Second World War.

You can also see some of the stories from the Queensferry collections in their virtual exhibition, 'Life on the Forth'.