This website was created in 2005 as a way of showing the range, size and beauty of agates from Scotland. It is a place for the interested collector to visit.

Beautiful agates are found all over the world including Brazil, Argentina, the United States, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Bulgaria, Russia and various countries in Africa. In comparison to these localities the agate bearing rocks in Scotland are very small but the Scottish agates, although fewer in number, are often second to none in their colour, pattern and beauty. For such a small country there is also an amazing variety of different agates many showing very subtle differences from one area to another.

Agates have fascinated man for thousands of years and are now one of the world’s most popular gemstones. Perhaps part of this fascination lies in the fact that no two agate nodules are ever exactly alike. The range of their colours, patterns and shape are almost endless and yet all have thought to be formed by the one natural process. This variety is true of no other gemstone however rare or exclusive it is.  

As well as on beaches agates can be found in ploughed fields, cliffs and quarries in Scotland. Some of the localities can be transitory such as quarries only open and producing agates for a short period of time.  

One of the greatest Scottish agate collectors was Professor Matthew F. Heddle who amassed a large and impressive agate collection from a variety of localities in Scotland towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Most of his collection is now in storage in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Very few specimens from his collection are actually on display but it is possible to ask to gain access to the storage facility at Granton near Leith to see it. I would recomend a visit there to see this magnificent collection. All his agates are magnificent but the ones from one of the most famous Scottish localities surpasses them all. His specimens from the “Blue Hole” of Usan rank alongside the best in the world. 

D. Anderson - Scotland 2020

This website is therefore dedicated to the beauty and variety of agates found in recent times in Scotland from all the major localities.

Dr David Anderson, Dunure, Ayrshire, Scotland (August 2024)

email: davidanderson9xk@mac.com

Every week now I am getting 2-3 emails from many agate collectors asking where in Scotland visitors can see Scottish agates displayed. These enquiries have come to me through this website from Britain, New Zealand, Australia, America, Germany, Holland and even Argentina!

I have no real answer for them as none of the main Museums in Scotland, including the National Museum of Scotland in Chamber Street in Edinburgh, have collections of Scottish agates on display. Of the tens of thousands of agates from Scotland they have in their possession they are mostly in storage…..never to see the light of day….and mostly donated in the past by amateur collectors.

However, there are a few small museums scattered over Scotland that do have some Scottish agates on display. One such privately run museum is the Gem Rock Museum (https://www.gemrock.net) in the village of Creetown in Galloway….this is an exceptional collection of national and worldwide mineral, fossils and agates. There are a number of Scottish agates on display here and I can only recommend a visit.

Another excellent and comprehensive collection of Scottish agates on public display is at the Caledonian Rock Shop Showroom at Gallowgate in Glasgow (https://www.caledonianrockshop.com).
I can only recommend a visit here not only to see the Scottish agates but also to see the wide variety of worldwide and Scottish material on sale.

The McKechnie Institute Heritage Museum and Gallery in Girvan (https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/article/25080/McKechnie-Institute), South Ayrshire also has a small collection of agates on display. They are mainly from beach localities on the Ayrshire coast near Turnberry, Maidens, Croy and Dunure but worth a look.

If anybody is aware of any other Scottish agate displays open to the public here in Scotland, could you please let me know?

Even now new localities are being found for agates in Scotland all showing different forms and colour combinations to the well know areas. This is mainly due to the countryside and local geology getting ripped up by the thousands of miles of tracks, borrow pits and quarries going in for windfarms and forestry in all regions of Scotland…….maybe not a bad thing?

[All images © David Anderson]

Plate Tectonic Maps by C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP Project. These excellent maps have transformed how we understand Earth geologic past by presenting the sometimes dry descriptions from the geologist by a visual illustration easily understood by everyone. It was only when I first saw these maps that I began to understand the story of Scotland journey through Geologic time.