SIDE TRIPS FROM GLASGOW - Edinburgh and Glasgow - page 255

Alloway: Burns' Birthplace
Some 3km (2 miles) south of Ayr, Alloway is where Scotland's national poet was born
in a simple cottage—the “auld clay biggin'”—that his father, gardener, and farmer
William Burnes (Robert dropped the “e”) built by hand in 1757.
Start your visit of the Burns National Heritage Park at the Burns Cottage &
Museum. Just a 10- to 15-minute walk down the road are the simple ruins of the
Alloway Auld Kirk, celebrated in the poem Tam O'Shanter: “Coffins stood round,
like open presses/That shaw'd the dead in their last dresses.” It stands roofless and
allegedly still haunted to this day, with the poet's father buried prominently at the
front of the kirkyard. The nearby stone Brig o' Doon still arcs elegantly over the
River Doon. Admission to the cottage, museum, and video in the Tam O'Shanter
Experience is £2 for adults and £1.25 for children and seniors.
Burns Cottage & Museum Although historically underfunded and rather
basic, this attraction is now undergoing major renovation, due to be completed in
2011. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the cottage that is kept in the fashion
of the poet's early childhood, when livestock shared part of the building with
humans. The family lived here for about a decade. After that, the cottage was
expanded and used as a pub and inn, before the local Burns Society had it restored
to the original, more compact size with features such as the “box bed” in the kitchen
where the poet would have been born. Outside of the cottage is the vegetable plot
that the self-sufficient Burnes family would have depended on.
The museum has a treasure trove of Burnsiana, keeping the best collection of
Burns's manuscripts, first editions of his books--signed in some cases--as well as
many letters that Burns wrote and received.
Alloway. 3km (2 miles) south of Ayr on B7024. & 01292/443-700. www.nts.org.uk. Admission £4
adults, £2.50 children and seniors, £10 families. MC, V. Apr-Sept daily 10am-5:30pm; Oct-Mar Mon-Sat
10am-5pm.
Burns Monument & Gardens About 1km ( 1 ⁄ 2 mile) from the Burns Cottage, just
past the old kirk, this Grecian-classical monument was erected in 1823 in a ceremony
attended by the poet's widow, Jean Armour. Later, it was replicated in Edinburgh on
Calton Hill. The gardens overlook the River Doon and the famous arching bridge.
Alloway. & 01292/443-700. Free admission. Apr-Sept daily 10am-5pm; Oct-Mar 10am-4pm.
Where to Stay & Dine
Abbotsford Hotel About a half-mile from the center of Ayr, this small hotel with
a popular, civilized pub is curiously named after Sir Walter Scott's mansion rather than
associating itself with Burns. The quiet residential neighborhood is less than a 10-min-
ute walk to the shoreline and convenient to the local golf courses, too. Most of the
units are smart and comfortable, with flat-screen TVs and modern bathrooms. Family-
run and friendly, the Abbotsford offers sound, moderately priced accommodations.
14 Corsehill Rd., Ayr KA7 2ST. & 01292/261-506. Fax [phone]. www.abbotsfordhotel.co.uk. £85
double with breakfast. MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: Bar; restaurant; beer garden. In room: TV.
Enterkine House MODERN SCOTTISH The overnight rooms at this Art Deco
country house hotel are five-star quality, while the Woodland Lodge offers a quirkier

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