Category × County
6 Best Museums In Argyll and Bute
Six. That is the whole category here, and saying it plainly matters more than dressing it up, because this is a county of long sea lochs and scattered towns where six museums do not sit conveniently together. Bute Museum is out on the island. Inveraray Jail and Auchindrain Township Open Air Museum are inland. Castle House Museum and Strachur Smiddy Museum and Craft Shop are small and local. Kilmartin House Museum is the sixth. Our flags mark all six as indoor, including the one with open air in its name, which we would not rely on.
Top museums in Argyll and Bute
Showing 1–6 of 6
MuseumsStrachur Smiddy Museum and Craft Shop
MuseumsBute Museum
SightseeingInveraray Jail
MuseumsCastle House Museum
MuseumsKilmartin House Museum
MuseumsAuchindrain Township Open Air Museum
Slot this category into a journey rather than planning one around it. Any of the six makes a reasonable hour if you are already going by, and not one of them justifies driving the length of this county, which is a long way to drive. Four of the six record outdoor space, so several involve walking about rather than standing in a room. Inveraray Jail is the one most likely to hold a child who thinks museums are boring, because the building itself does the work.
Museums in Argyll and Bute: FAQs
Why are there so few?
Small population spread over a lot of coastline, mostly. A museum needs a town behind it to survive, and this county's towns are small and far apart, so the ones that exist are local efforts rather than civic institutions. None of that reflects badly on the six, several of which are rated highly, but it does mean this category will never be why you came. Come for the coast and the water; keep a museum in reserve for the hour the rain wins.
Is Bute Museum worth crossing to the island for?
Not by itself, no. It is one museum, and getting to an island is a piece of planning in its own right that no single small collection justifies. If you are going over anyway it is a sensible hour and well rated, particularly if the weather turns and you need somewhere with a roof. Think of it as something that improves a day already happening rather than something that starts one.
Which of these suits younger children?
Auchindrain Township Open Air Museum is the likeliest, because a site you walk around asks much less of a small child than a room of glass cases does. Our records flag it indoor, which its name argues against, so assume you will be outside for a good part of it and dress everyone properly. Strachur Smiddy Museum and Craft Shop is the other one where there is something to look at that is not behind glass. Keep visits short and expectations modest and both work.