International Visits

The Lady Victoria Colliery, home of the National Mining Museum Scotland, is one of the finest surviving examples of a Victorian coalmine in Europe. Opened in 1895 it was Scotland’s first super-pit and remained an important part of Midlothian’s mining tradition until it closed in 1981.

All group visits must be booked in advance, you can do so by completing the form at the bottom of this page or emailing reception@nationalminingmuseum.com. Please find our full International Booking Policy, including costs, in the PDF document below.

What Can We Do During Our Visit?

Guided Tours

The tour is in English and all our guides are ex-miners from Scotland. The tour will take your group through the Lady Victoria Colliery, around the Pithead, into our recreated underground experience and finishes with a live demonstration of Europe’s largest Winding Engine.

The tour will last approximately 1hour 15 minutes. Audio guides are available as alternative however, this requires the use of a personal mobile device.

Explore our Exhibitions

We host two floors of exhibitions which offer an incredible interdisciplinary learning journey for pupils/students of all ages.

The Story of Coal
Your experience starts with coal’s creation in the Carboniferous period and follows human efforts to extract coal from the earth from the 13th century to modern times. Pupils can interact with displays, meet some famous Scots and see how technology has developed over the centuries.

A Race Apart
Discover exactly what life was like, at home and at work, for the miners and their families in Scotland’s mining communities. The exhibition has emotive tales from the 1842 Royal Commission Report, which banned women and children from working underground, a Victorian home where children can experience laundry day and dress up as a Victorian and ends with the 1984-5 strike which saw the end of deep mining in Scotland.