Doors Open Days make up Scotland’s largest free festival, which celebrates places and stories, new and old. Across the country, doors are opened wide, welcoming visitors to discover hidden gems and explore the history of their local areas.  

With two more weeks left of the 2023 festival, many regions are still to welcome visitors: Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Badenoch & Strathspey, Caithness & Sutherland, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Moray, North Lanarkshire, Outer Hebrides, Perth & Kinross, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, and West Fife. 

We’ve searched high and low for secret spots across Scotland, and they are all open for free to the public as part of the Doors Open Days festival. 

1. 8 Doors Distillery, John O’Groats

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the most northerly distillery on the UK mainland. Producing the first single malt Scotch whisky in the area since 1837, it was officially opened by King Charles, on August 2, 2023. 
Booking required – tours available from 11am -4pm, September 16 and 17. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/highland-caithness-sutherland/8-doors-distillery

2. The Bucket Mill, Finzean, Aberdeenshire 

Operated by three generations of the Brown family, the Bucket Mill was built in the 1850s to make wooden buckets using lumber from the nearby Forest of Birse. Join a guided behind-the-scenes tour of this A-listed mill. 
Booking required – tours available from 10am-3pm, September 16 and 17.
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/aberdeenshire/the-bucket-mill-finzean

3. Little Bellyclone Farm, Perth & Kinross

With buildings dating from the late 1700s to the mid-20th century, Little Bellyclone farm is the perfect spot to experience some traditional building skills. Try your hand at drystone walling, lime pointing, and natural paint-making to discover how these traditional skills can help achieve positive climate action. 

Booking not required – 10am-5pm, September 16th and 17th.
https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/places/perth-kinross/little-bellyclone-farm/

4. Auchterarder Picturehouse, Perth & Kinross 

A rare chance to see inside the former Regal Cinema. Built in 1926, this Art Deco cinema has been closed since 1962 with little alteration having been made to the structure. Discover a Roaring 1920s gem before the restoration work begins.

Booking not required – 11am-4pm, September 16-17. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/perth-kinross/auchterarder-picturehouse

5. Historic Kilmun, Argyll & Bute 

On the shores of the Holy Loch, Historic Kilmun features three A-listed structures. Visit the final resting places of the bygone chiefs of clan Campbell and Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in Britain. 
Booking not required – 10am-3pm, September 16 and 17. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/argyll-bute/historic-kilmun/

6. St Margaret’s Cave, Dunfermline

Located 60 feet beneath a car park and accessed by a subterranean stairway is St Margaret’s Cave. Tradition tells that in the 12th century, Queen Margaret would privately pray at a shrine hidden in a cave in a secluded ravine. In the 1960s the ravine was filled in, but public outcry ensured that the cave was saved. 

Booking not required – 11am-3pm, September 16 and 17. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/west-fife/st-margarets-cave-dunfermline

7. Mackintosh Queen’s Cross, Glasgow 

Visit the only church designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh to be built. Now occupied by the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, join a tour and see the instantly recognisable Mackintosh motifs located throughout the building from the carved pulpit to the stained glass windows. 

Booking not required – 10am-5pm, September 17.
glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk/building-no-booking/mackintosh-queens-cross/

8. Tobacco Merchant’s House, Glasgow

Travel back in time to Georgian Glasgow and see how the A-listed building has been transformed into the offices of the Scottish Civic Trust, the national coordinator of Doors Open Days. Built in 1775, Tobacco Merchant’s House is one of the few Georgian buildings that remains in Glasgow’s city centre. 
Booking not required - 11am - 4pm, September 17th. 

https://glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk/building-no-booking/tobacco-merchants-house/

9. M&S Artist’s Studios, Glasgow

Currently occupied by more than eighty artists, the former Marks and Spencers building on Sauchiehall Street has been given a new lease of life. Immerse yourself in the vibrant mix of open studios, exhibitions, and performances, whilst speaking to the artists who are helping to reanimate empty buildings on Scotland’s high streets.

Booking required – noon-4pm, September 16 and 17. 
glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk/building-booking-ess/ms-artists-studios

10. Kinloss Abbey & Abbot’s House, Moray

Founded in 1150, Kinloss Abbey is the largest Cistercian abbey in the north of Scotland. For Doors Open Days the normally inaccessible Abbot’s House will be unlocked and visitors will be allowed a peek inside. 

Booking not required – 1pm-4pm, September 23. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/moray/kinloss-abbey-abbots-house

11. School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

Celebrating 25 years of the Wellcome Trust Building, join some of the 900 staff who work at the School of Life Sciences for a tour of the WeeCAIR Medicinal Garden. Learn from experienced researchers about how medicinal plants are still used in the creation of modern medicines and how they can be grown in your very own garden.

Booking required – tours available from noon-2pm, September 24. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/dundee/school-of-life-sciences-university-of-dundee/

12. Kippen Smiddy, Stirlingshire

Up until the 1980s, Kippen Smiddy was home to the Rennie family of blacksmiths who worked from this small workshop for nearly 200 years. Donated to the National Trust for Scotland by the family in 1985, it retains many of the features and tools used in blacksmithing. 

Booking not required – 2pm-7pm, September 23 and 24. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/stirling/kippen-smiddy

13. Granton Art Centre, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh

Holding more than 5,000 pieces of artwork from the national art collection, the Granton Art Centre offers a fascinating tour of the seldom seen treasures of the collection. You can also hear about the plans for The Arts Works, a sustainable new facility to care for, research and share Scotland’s renowned art collection. 

Booking required – tours from 10am-4pm, September 23. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/edinburgh/national-galleries-of-scotland-granton-art-centre

14.  The Grand Lodge of Scotland, Edinburgh

Behind the impressive entrance on George Street, you can find Freemasons’ Hall which is the home of Scottish Freemasonry. Explore the four floors including the library and the museum, ending in the Grand Hall and a beautiful glass domed ceiling. 

Booking not required – 11am-4pm, September 24. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/edinburgh/the-grand-lodge-of-scotland-freemasons-hall

15. Outer Spaces’ Artists Residences at the former Royal London Building, Edinburgh

Enter the office building formerly used by mutual insurance society Royal London to find artists of all disciplines taking over the abandoned cubicles and spaces. Visitors are free to explore at their own pace and speak with artists present about their work. There will also be activities going on throughout the day to allow people to have their own go at making art. 

Booking not required – noon-5pm, September 23. 
doorsopendays.org.uk/places/edinburgh/outer-spaces-artist-residents-at-the-former-royal-london-building

To explore the full nationwide programme, you can visit the Doors Open Days website: www.doorsopendays.org.uk.