Our visit to The Museum on the Mound Edinburgh

Having never seen a £1,000,000 in real life and after our recent visit to the Royal Mint Experience in South Wales we were all really excited to visit the Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh.

Opened in 2006 The Museum on the Mound is housed in the magnificent, purpose-built head office of the Bank of Scotland which now serves as the Scottish headquarters for Lloyds Banking Group, located just off Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile.

Located on the mound, the museum boasts fantastic views over Princess Street Gardens and Edinburgh below.

This is a free museum and we had a very warm welcome from the staff.  The girls were given activity books to complete as we explored the museum.

On entering the museum you immediately see the glass case holding £1,000,000 in used £20 notes.  Every single note has been marked ‘cancelled’ so it’s no longer legal tender.

In this self-guided interactive exhibition you make your way through its seven rooms  with some fantastic exhibitions detailing how money has evolved over 4,000 years, the Scottish banking system and its oldest bank the Bank of Scotland.

The Museum on the Mound has a superb collection of some very old coins and bank notes such as Scotland’s oldest banknote.

There are lots of fun interactive experiences for children to take part in from putting your head on a Scottish twenty pound note, coin rubbing to trying to complete 3d jigsaw puzzle.  Here we had to rebuild the bank building with the added pressure of being timed.

You also have the opportunity to crack the safe with chocolate coin loot inside.  Although we never managed to crack the safe the staff gave the children a chocolate coin each as we left this great museum.

As well as the £1,000,000 on display in the main entrance, we also found another £1,000,000 on display as we explored the museum.

At the end of your museum experience the girls got their activity books embossed at the gift shop which was a lovely keepsake for their time at the museum.

Overall it was a really enjoyable and informative visit.  It’s free to enter and it’s a great place to take kids whilst in Edinburgh.

Opening hours

Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 – 17:00
(Saturday – Sunday: 13:00 – 17:00)
Bank Holiday Mondays: 13:00 – 17:00

For more information please visit the Museum on the Mound website