Friday March 13th 2026
Prestongange Museum
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
East Lothian Council museums are preparing to welcome visitors for a vibrant new season, featuring fresh exhibitions, creative activities and opportunities to explore local heritage across the county.
Dunbar Town House Museum & Gallery opens the season with a nostalgic look back at Dunbar’s beloved outdoor pool. Though long gone, the pool remains alive through cherished memories and historic photographs. Artist Catriona Simpson explores how memory shapes identity and our sense of place through a new collection of oil paintings. This exhibition complements the Dunbar & District History Society’s current show, Summers in Dunbar, offering a rich, reflective tribute to the town’s past.
John Gray Centre Museum, Haddington is preparing two major exhibitions for 2026 alongside celebrations marking 50 years of the Local History Centre.
The season opens with a landmark exhibition on internationally renowned artist John Bellany HRSA, born in Port Seton. Paintings from East Lothian Council’s own collection will be shown alongside prestigious loans from private lenders and the Royal Scottish Academy. A programme of specialist talks will accompany the display, which runs until autumn.
Following this, Cinematic East Lothian will explore film locations and cinema history across the region, running through until Spring 2027.
Visitors can also enjoy the winning entries from the Children’s Art Competition, now beautifully framed in the museum lobby, and create their own artworks in the refreshed Museum Art Space.
John Muir’s Birthplace, Dunbar has been working on an exciting project to look at new ways to engage with Muir’s legacy and seek inspiration from Muir’s example to take action in whatever way feels right to them, towards creating a thriving planet with thriving communities for all. The varied programme of exhibitions, dropin crafts and family workshops will run throughout the year April will see the launch of the first seasonal exhibition which will look at Gardening Pioneers and will set the tone for an engaging year ahead at the museum dedicated to Dunbar’s most famous son.
Prestongrange Museum reopens this spring with an exciting season inspired by the site’s rich industrial heritage. A full programme of small, friendly events will be announced on Facebook throughout the year.
Wee Wednesdays returns from 7 April, offering weekly Bookbug sessions and crafts for families. Visitors can also drop in for guided tours or enjoy coffee and cake in the onsite café.
From 1 April, families are invited to kick off the season with a fun Easter Trail around the museum grounds.
The next stage in an ambitious project to develop a heritage park within the former Prestongrange Colliery and Brickworks between Prestonpans and Musselburgh is nearing completion. Work to repair the structure and roof of the building and the creation of a volunteer base and activity room within the former medical centre of the Pithead Baths building began in June 2025, with the goal of encouraging wider community use of the park and helping build future volunteer capacity. The project is expected to be finished by late spring/early summer.
The aim of the project is to secure the fabric of the former Pithead Bath House building, deliver an accessible, carbon neutral community hub and education space, and encourage further dialogue to identify future uses of the building that will complement the wider heritage park and contribute to the long-term sustainability and viability of this important attraction.
Look out for more information in the coming months about this exciting development as we work to bring this iconic building back in to use as the Prestongrange site continues its transition from its industrial past to a rewilded and repurposed future. The work is being funded by a £1.2 million grant from the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and carried out by Clark Contracts.
Musselburgh Museum launches its season in April with a special exhibition in partnership with The Royal Company of Archers, coinciding with the annual competition for the historic Musselburgh Arrow – believed to be the oldest sporting trophy in the world still competed for annually. The competition’s origins, which date back to 1603, has its long association with The Royal Company of Archers since 1676. The exhibition runs from April to the end of May and further themed exhibitions will follow from June to September, including a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Musselburgh Grammar School.
The Coastal Communities Museum, North Berwick reopens for the new season on Friday 3 April with refreshed displays and exciting updates. A new exhibition on agricultural life in East Lothian showcases historic farming tools from seed broadcasters and sheep shears to a hand plough and a mysterious device once known as a ‘foster mother’. Visitors can explore the stories these objects tell about rural life throughout the region.
The museum’s popular ropetying display also returns, inviting visitors to master nautical knots such as the bowline and the sheet bend.
Councillor Colin McGinn, Cabinet Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing and Sport, Countryside and Leisure, said: “The start of the new season at East Lothian’s Museums is always an exciting time and I think that this year we really do have something for everyone to enjoy at sites across the county. It’s a great time to explore something that’s of particular interest to you – or to explore something completely new. There’s even more to come later in the year and I’m particularly excited about all the new developments happening at Prestongrange and I know that local people are very much looking forward to seeing what’s happening with the Heritage Park once that work is complete.”
All of the East Lothian Councils museums are free admission.
For more information on opening hours click here.
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