Bennie Museum

📌 Bathgate, West Lothian
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Bathgate is one of the largest settlements in the council area of West Lothian: a both post-industrial and rural area between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The town centre, it must be said, isn’t the prettiest of places, but the museum has published a leaflet called Reasons why Bathgate is famous to try and convince tourists to linger. The five claims to fame relate to the Bathgate Beast fossil; links to Robert the Bruce; Sir James Young Simpson, a pioneering physician; the unrelated James “Paraffin” Young, early oil tycoon; and the birthplace of two Ryder Cup golf captains. If that isn’t enough to persuade you to stay, the crowded but quaint museum is home to even more besides. And admission is free.