Highland Folk Museum

The Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore is one of the Highlands’ most immersive heritage attractions, offering a vivid, open‑air journey through centuries of rural life. Founded in 1935, it was Britain’s first open‑air museum, inspired by Scandinavian folk museums. Its most famous feature is the recreated 1700s township, used as a filming location for Outlander, where turf‑roofed houses and working hearths bring the past to life with remarkable authenticity. Inside the museum’s various buildings, visitors can explore traditional crafts, domestic tools, and farming equipment that reveal how Highland communities lived, worked, and adapted to their environment. The 1930s schoolroom is a highlight, complete with wooden desks, ink pots, and period lessons that capture the feel of early 20th‑century education. Other displays include weaving looms, blacksmith tools, and objects linked to crofting, forestry, and local trades. The site stretches over a mile, with woodland paths connecting historic structures, workshops, and exhibition spaces. Costumed interpreters often demonstrate skills such as spinning, baking, and woodworking, adding a lively human element to the experience. With its blend of reconstructed buildings, hands‑on history, and beautiful outdoor setting, the Highland Folk Museum offers one of the most engaging and atmospheric windows into traditional Highland life.