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Scotland TownsAlloway
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Scotland TownsAlloway
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ROBERT BURNS BIRTHPLACE
Threaded through the small village of Alloway in South Ayrshire are a number of sites associated with Robert Burns.
Standing on the Brig O’Doon or exploring the graveyard surrounding the Auld Kirk brings the Bard’s poetry vividly to life.
Fittingly for a poet whose work was infused with a love of nature, many of the visitor attractions are set amongst gardens where the
plants that flourish today would have been familiar to Burns himself.
From the red rose of passion to the poppies, whose petals reminded him of spent pleasures, Burns was a
keen observer of the natural world and his introduction to it came at an early age in the garden of the
thatched cottage where he was born.
Today a vegetable patch recreates the kale yard where the young Robert was taught by his father to
grow vegetables, while a wildflower meadow contains some of the plants that feature in his work.
There’s an orchard too, all presided over by a giant willow sculpture of the Bard.
The 500m pedestrian walkway that leads from the cottage to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, is known
as the “Poet’s Path” and in early spring the hawthorn hedges that line it are flushed with green.
Later, cowslips appear amongst the grass while sculptures inspired by Burns’s poetry, including scenes from Tam
O’Shanter, a giant Mouse and Twa Dogs, are permanent features.
Behind the Museum lies the Scots Wa-Hey garden, Where the children’s play area includes a scaled-down replica of the cottage
and a roundabout shaped like a witch’s cauldron.
These are set amongst birch trees and firs, underplanted with heather, which provide year-round interest.
Massed plants of winter-flowering honeysuckle provide fragrant hedging in front of the building.
From the Museum it is a short stroll to the Monument Gardens, where the 21m high Grecian temple
centrepiece has recently been restored.
This is a sloping, south-facing site overlooking the Brig O’Doon and its sheltered paths and seating areas are
inviting even in the midst of winter. Roses feature heavily amongst the planting while box hedging, yew and
mature phormiums provide year-round structure.
Burns Night is celebrated on 25 January and the planting around the museum in particular has been
designed to look good even at this bleak time of year, with scented shrubs, birch bark and evergreens
providing structure and interest.
RECOMMENDATlONS IN THE AREA
Twelve miles southeast of Alloway lies the picturesque village of Straiton.
This is the heart of Ayrshire’s rambling country and a 6km path heads from the village to the top
of Bennan Hill and the Straiton Monument, which commemorates the life of Lt Col James Hunter
Blair, who fell at the battle of Inkerman in 1854.
It is a steep scramble to the top of this 232m hill, but the views are worth the effort and a circular
path leads walkers back to the village.
The museum is two and a half miles south of Ayr. It is signposted from the A77.
The Museum is open daily, 10am - 16.30
Entry to the cafe and museum gardens, along with the monument gardens, is free.
Entry to the exhibits and cottage: £11.50 / £8.50
Tel: 01292 443700
burns@nts. org. uk
www.nts. org. uk
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