We are delighted to finally open the Castle’s new School Room Toy Museum for the first full season, despite it being completed nearly two years ago. Due to restrictions being imposed in March 2020 to prevent the spread of covid-19, the Toy Museum launch was stopped in its tracks. The 2022 season will be the first year that all visitors will be invited to explore the incredible collection.

The Toy Museum allows visitors to see several thousand unique Georgian, Edwardian, and Victorian toys in specially designed displays. Some of these items belong to the Maitland family, but a substantial part of the collection is kindly on loan from the Pollock Toy Museum.

The new collection would not have been completed without the painstaking preparation over a two-year period from the Heritage Volunteers from the Arts Society. Transforming the School Room into a modern and inviting space with purpose-built displays would also not have been possible without the generous funding from several organisations, including The Pilgrim Trust, Museums Galleries Scotland, Fallago Environment Fund and the Cadogan Trust.

Thirlestane Castle offers guided tours between May and October, which can be booked through our website. Explore the magnificent 16th Century Castle, which has some of the finest decorative plasterwork ceilings in Europe, as well as one of the most extensive family collections of portraits and busts in Scotland. Of course, visitors will also be able to discover the magnificent Toy Museum during their time at Thirlestane.

Explore the Castle and the Toy Museum with a guided tour. Book your tickets here.