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Alloway Village is situated on the
south side of Ayr. The village is
one of the most picturesque in
Scotland, an extremely popular
wedding venue and tourist
attraction.
The village is separated from
Ayr by two scenic Country Estates
that are open to visitors, Rozelle with woodland
walks, ponds, mansion, art gallery
and tea house More
Information.
Belleisle Mansion now
normally serves as a hotel with two
golf courses, scenic
gardens & woodland
walks.
More
Information.
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Starting from the south side of
Alloway.
The 15th Century old Brig O Doon was made
famous by the poet Robert Burns tale of
Tam O
Shanter. The poem tells of a local in
the area that was returning from a day at
the market in old Ayr. After having a few
drinks, he passes by Alloway’s
haunted Old Kirk (church) and stumbles
across witches. In his desperate attempt
to escape, he rides his grey mare Meg
across this bridge hoping the witches
would be reluctant to cross the water.
Although Tam escapes their clutches, Meg
looses her tail to the grasp of a witches
hand.
Large Image .
Large Image
from the New Bridge
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Left is a view from the old Brig O
Doon looking towards the new bridge and
Brig O Doon
Hotel gardens.The new bridge was
completed in 1816 to replace the Auld
Brig as the main route into Alloway.
Large front
image of Hotel.
The Burns Monument and Memorial
Gardens designed by Thomas Hamilton,
as seen to the right of the hotel, were
completed in 1823 with the gardens
opening to the public on the 4th July of
that year. The gardens also contain
statues of Tam O Shanter and Souter
Johnnie. About 50,000 people visit the
gardens each year.
More
Information * Large Image.
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Alloway Auld Kirk, built in 1516, is
situated about 50 yards north of the Brog
O Doon hotel. This is where Robert Burns
had his father buried. The headstone, as
seen right, is not the original as damage
by souvenir hunters meant it had to be
replaced.
Alloway
Parish Church, built in 1858, is
situated directly across the road from
the Auld Kirk.
Large Image
of William Burns Headstone * Large Side Image
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Behind Alloway Parish Church is the
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. This
modern visitor centre with large car park
has a licensed restaurant, gift shop and
a theatre that shows short films every
hour about the life of Robert Burns.
The Burns Museum is open daily.
Admission charges to the museum are about
adults £8 / children £5. The
gift shop and restaurant are free to
visit.
www.burnsmuseum.org.uk .
Map/Reviews.
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After returning to Alloway Main
Street, about one quarter of a mile
further on, you reach Burns Cottage with
parking to the rear.
William Burness built this cottage in
1757. He had moved from Kincardineshire
to Alloway in 1750 to work as a gardener
in the neighbouring Doonholm
Estate.
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Robert was the first of seven children
born to William Burness and his wife
Agnes Broun in the cottage January 25th
1759. In time, their eldest son became
Scotland’s most famous poet.
Robert Burns has remained a favourite
of the Scottish people as his life saw
him stay in many parts of the country.
This means there are buildings and
monuments throughout Scotland that have
been preserved in his name and become
part of Scotland’s history. Also,
he was the father of 12 children to 4
different women; this also adds interest
to his life.
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Large
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The Burness family left the cottage in
1765 to take up a 12-year lease of the
nearby farm ‘Mount Oliphant’.
From there, Robert attended a small
school in Alloway. By 1777, the family
had taken up a lease of Lochlea farm in
the parish of Tarbolton, about 8 miles
north of Alloway. William Burness died at
Lochlea in February 1784, leaving Robert
as head of the family.The Bachelors'
Club in the village of Tarbolton has
been preserved by the National Trust as
it was where Robert Burns took dancing
lessons and formed his debating club in
the upper room.
Robert and his brother Gilbert then
rented Mossgiel farm at Mauchline, about 4 miles north
of Tarbnolton. Robert met his future wife
Jean Armour in Mauchline 1785. He wrote
some of his finest works at that time and
began to earn a small income from their
sales. It is thought he changed his name
to Burns during that period.
In about 1786, Robert fell in love
with Highland
Mary who worked at Coilsfield Castle
& Estate, situated on the outskirts
of Tarbolton. Burns referred to
Coilsfield Castle as Montgomery Castle,
the name of the owners. Robert and Mary
intended to emigrate to the West Indies
around that time. Mary died soon after
from a fever, this seeing Robert decide
to remain in Scotland. Robert returned to
Jean
Armour soon after, they were
officially married in Mauchline 1788.
Coilsfield Castle was replaced by
Coilsfield House
in about 1804, that house was destroyed
by fire in 1969. The walled garden of the
estate now serves as a lodge and caravan
park under the name Middlemuir
Heights.
In 1788, Robert Burns and Jean Armour
moved to the farm of Ellisland in the
parish of Dumfries
about 50 miles souteast of Mauchline. By
1791, he had taken up residence in
Dumfries itself and lived there until his
death July 21st 1796, aged 37. His death
was atrributed to either Rheumatic Heart
Disease or alcoholism. He was buried in
St
Michael’s Churchyard Dumfries
on the day his wife Jean was giving birth
to their ninth child. Burns Night is an
annual celebration held throughout
Scotland on January 25th, the anniversary
of his birth.
Many Robert Burns descendants were
captured on photograph. See: sites.scran.ac.uk/robertburns/descendants/
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Guided tours of Alloway and Ayr
by Donald Kay focus on Robert Burns
old haunts. Visit these historic
places and learn how they inspired
Burns to write some of his most
memorable works.
For more information, visit the
website www.walkaboutayr.com
Phone: 00 44 (0)1292 287765
Mobile: 07867 510 165
Email: donald@walkaboutayr.com
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Right, Souter
Johnnie’s Cottage is situated
on the main street in the small village
of Kirkoswald, approximately 13 miles
south of Ayr.
This cottage, built in 1785, was the
home of John Davidson, the local souter
(Scots for shoemaker). Davidson became
the character Johnnie Souter who was
Tam’s drinking partner in Burns
famous poem Tam O Shanter.
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Burns got to know Davidson when at
sixteen years old; he spent the summer of
1775 at a school in Kirkoswald learning
mathematics. The cottage is now owned by
the National Trust for Scotland. It is
open to the public from April 1st -
September 30th 11.30 - 17.00, admission
about £5.50 per adult. The cottage
contains period furniture, Burns relics,
a souters workshop and alehouse. The
alehouse has life-sized figures of Tam O
Shanter, Souter, the Innkeeper and his
wife. See also Mauchline
for more on Robert Burns. Map/Directions. Website:
www.nts.org.uk/Property/54/
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There is now a large inn and tee room
in Kikoswald next to Souter Johnnie's
Cottage named The House of Burns, one of
Ayrshire's most popular, website:
www.houseofburns.com.
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