
Six Scottish indoor summer weekend days out for the whole family as rain forecast
This summer in Scotland has been very unpredictable so far. The country has seen both scorching temperatures and heavy showers in recent weeks.
Unfortunately, as reported by the Daily Record, more wet weather is on the way over the coming days. However, rain shouldn't stop you from making the most of summer.
Most popular activities over the warmer months involve soaking up some sun. However, there is still plenty of fun to be had indoors for all ages.
The Daily Record has rounded up six days out in Scotland perfect for rainy weather. We have included everything from water parks and science centres for young ones to an iconic whisky distillery perfect for parents.
1. The Time Capsule, Coatbridge
The beloved indoor water park The Time Capsule is set to finally reopen on July 19 after closing back in March for essential upgrade works. According to North Lanarkshire Council, the renovations are the "most significant upgrade" to The Time Capsule in more than 30 years.
Among the additions to the park are colour-changing underwater lights and brand new pumps and blowers to enhance its waterfalls. Other improvements include new soft rubber flooring and updated showers.
More information can be found on the .
2. Deep Sea World, North Queensferry
Deep Sea World is an aquarium situated in the village of North Queensferry, a short drive out of Edinburgh. Among the attraction's standout features is its underwater moving walkway, which holds the record as the longest in Europe.
Meanwhile, Deep Sea World is home to countless fish, shark, amphibian, and invertebrate species. Visitors will be able to spot tiger sharks, pufferfish, stingrays, clown fish, and much more.
More information can be found on the Deep Sea World website.
3. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
There is a reason why the National Museum of Scotland is one of the UK's most popular attractions outside of London. The free museum is jam-packed with incredible interactive exhibits that cover everything from dinosaurs to fashion.
One of the top exhibits at the National Museum of Scotland is Dolly the Sheep, who was the first cloned mammal ever to be created from an adult cell. Elsewhere, other highlights of the museum include the mysterious Arthur's Seat Coffins and the Ancient Egyptian exhibitions.
More information can be found on the National Museum of Scotland website.
4. Talisker Distillery, Isle of Skye
Talisker is one of Scotland's most iconic distilleries, and a fascinating visitor attraction in its own right. If you are a whisky lover, there is no better time than a rainy afternoon to head on a distillery tour led by a knowledgeable expert.
Talisker's classic tour is an hour in length, and takes guests through its history, flavour, and production processes. It ends with three dram tastings for the adults of the distillery's award-winning single malts.
More information can be found on the Talisker Distillery website.
5. The Great Tapestry of Scotland, Galashiels
Tucked away in the Borders town of Galashiels is one of Scotland's most unique attractions—and one of the biggest community arts projects in the world. The Great Tapestry of Scotland was hand-stitched by approximately 1,000 people across the country, and is made up of 300 miles of wool.
The tapestry itself details the history of Scotland, from its formation millions of years ago right up to the present day. The building also houses a gift shop and a café, as well as a gallery for other visiting exhibits.
More information can be found on The Great Tapestry of Scotland website.
6. Aberdeen Science Centre, Aberdeen
Aberdeen Science Centre offers the perfect day out for visitors both young and old. In total, there are more than 65 interactive exhibits to check out—detailing how science shapes our world.
One standout of the Aberdeen Science Centre is RoboThespian, who is a friendly and knowledgeable robot. Another is the OPITO Theatre of Energy, which provides visitors with three entertaining and educational immersive experiences.
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Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Incredible complete handprint found on ancient Egyptian tomb ornament in museum – that had gone unnoticed for millennia
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Edinburgh Reporter
24-07-2025
- Edinburgh Reporter
The museum's on the tram!
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Scotsman
24-07-2025
- Scotsman
I went to the National Museum of Scotland's new show, and found my spirit animal
© Phil Wilkinson There are 50 species to meet at the primate exhibit Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I don't think my other half likes it when I say he resembles a proboscis monkey. It's not so much the nose, I tell him. The similarity is in the small round beady eyes, and the aerodynamic forehead. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I recognise the similarities even more, when this organ grinder takes her plus one to Monkeys: Our Primate Family at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. This lovely exhibition is on until November 30, 2025, and was first shown at the venue in 2016, before touring internationally, with 500,000 visitors from six countries viewing the show. It seems that people really love monkeys. They are, after all, our closest relatives. Well, the hominidae - including chimpanzees and bonobos - are. The others are more distant, like the second cousin you send a card to every second Christmas. However, I didn't ever realise how many species there are. Apparently, over 260, with 50, from chimpanzees to lemurs, featured in the taxidermy dioramas in this exhibition. They are frozen eternally - being bewildered by a snake, hanging upside down, swinging from a rope, carrying a multitude of cartoony-looking cheeky babies on their back or, ahem, mating. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad (If I ever get taxidermied or even plastinated, in a Gunther Von Hagens style, please, give me a dignified and flattering pose, in the style of the mannequins in the fashion gallery downstairs). I bet when they come to life at night, like all things in a museum do, it must be a wild party here. Whatever species or stance, they're easy to anthropomorphise. I can practically hear a Desmond Morris voiceover in my ear, as I go from case to case, with the sounds of the jungle twinkling in the background. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The bearded emperor tamarin sounds like Hulk Hogan, but the beautiful orang-utan has a soft Scottish accent. Of course it does. Either that or it's saying 'I hate that duck', like Keith Harris's horrible puppet, Cuddles the Monkey, from the Eighties. Just because it has wispy red hair, don't attribute it with a Trump voice. That's SSPCA-level animal cruelty. Personally, while wandering around the show, I feel an affinity with the howler monkeys, who screech from the treetops, in an angsty Munch-like mouth-agog fashion. That must be very therapeutic. However, it's only the emotional boys who do that, while I suppose the girls just silently internalise their feelings. Seems familiar. Although I don't spot any in this show, I would most want to be a snow monkey. I could happily chill in an onsen all day, until my fur was saturated and every louse had been plucked from my silvery Beetlejuice coiffure. I shall jot that down as a reincarnation possibility. Thanks to the exhibition, I also discovered that male squirrel monkeys can't see red, because of a genetic condition that's carried on the X chromosome. It's rumoured that they often go right through the jungle traffic lights, in their tiny cars. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The douroucoulis - otherwise known as night or owl monkeys - are monochromats in that they see no colours at all. There's no need, since they do all their business after dark. Sadly, it means they never make it over the rainbow bridge. My favourite of all is the Bengal slow loris, who has thick fur, the saddest face I've ever seen, and the sort of beautiful spatula-like fingers that would make it an excellent oboe player. Sadly, in common with a lot of the other primates, this is a vulnerable species. It's also the only venomous mammal, as it secretes a noxious oil from a gland, which becomes a venom when mixed with its own saliva. I'm still a fan, and it might be worth the paralysis to give an animated one a sneaky wee tickle behind the ear. At least I would die happy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Since I call him a proboscis, I request that my other half judge my primate equivalent, and he generously goes for a velvet monkey, or a galago. However, I know that I don't have their neat and nimble frames, Anne Hathaway eyes and delicate fingers. I'm more like a big-bottomed baboon, stealing food from tourists, pulling wing mirrors off cars and shrieking. However, I am grateful for his kindness, so I will groom him thoroughly tonight. Humans and some primates have plenty more in common, the exhibition tells us, including our opposable thumbs. That means that this digit can rotate to join other fingers, allowing us to grasp objects, make tools and use our hands for social signals. Despite our highly evolved hands, neither species can open plastic soup containers. We all need another few million years of evolution for that. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Unless I missed it, I suppose it'd be too silly for the show to pay tribute to our shared love of bananas, though I can't stop thinking about the fruit that unites us. However, I'm happy to see they've gone wild for that in the gift shop , where souvenir merch includes stretchy bananas alongside plushy lemurs and smiling orangutans. I do wonder if it's true that monkeys peel them from the bottom up, rather than from the stalk end. My sister is big on doing it that way, as she thinks monkeys should have the final word. I'm sorry, but I think they're doing it wrong. The stalk is a naturally like the top of a zipper. Could someone get hold of the primate chief of staff and let's cascade the information to all chimps. In our household, we use the human method, and we get through about a dozen a week. I say 'we', when I mean 'he'. I usually am allowed just one, when he swiftly guzzles the rest at the rate of two a day.