Touring Southern Scotland with Barbour - Alloway & Robert Burns

For my third day touring Southern Scotland with Barbour, it was time to leave Dumfries and Galloway and travel further west into Ayrshire.  I wanted to showcase Alloway which happens to not only be one of the prettiest villages in Scotland, but also the birthplace of Scotland's National Bard, Robert Burns.
If you ever wanted to find out more about this iconic Scottish poet, there is no better place to visit in Scotland as Alloway celebrates his life and work in a range of attractions, from the cottage he was born in, to the modern Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.  Even the lamp posts, flower boxes and street names have all had a Burns themed makeover!

Robert Burns Birthplace Museum

With plenty of parking, the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum is a good place to start your quest to learn more about the man himself.  It was built specifically to house the world's biggest collection of Burns related artifacts including original manuscripts written in his own hand and some of his personal belongings.  The collection was started just after his death in 1796 and now has over 5,500 objects.
The Birthplace Museum actually includes a further five sites within the village of Alloway and after an interesting introduction to the complex life of Robert Burns, it was time for us to follow in his footsteps on the Burns' Trail and find out more about the local places and characters that inspired some of his most important work.

Burns Cottage

For our next stop we travelled back in time to where the story of Robert Burns began, quite literally, as Burns Cottage is the place he was born on 25th January 1759 and spent the first 7 years of his life.  This pretty clay cottage, complete with thatched roof, was actually built by Robert's father, William Burns in 1757 and incorporated 2 rooms, a byre and a barn.
When the family moved out, William sold the cottage and it was leased out by the owners as an alehouse but shortly after the death of Robert Burns, the alehouse had to be extended due to the number of visitors attracted by the spreading fame of the poet.  In 1881 the cottage was bought by the trustees of the Burns Monument who spent 26 years restoring it to its original condition.  Today visitors can get an insight into what life was like in the early years of Scotland's Bard.

Image Credit - Sean Elliott Photography for Barbour

The Poet's Path

The Poet's Path was designed as a link between Burns Cottage and the other attractions in Alloway.  Look out for some quirky sculptures that celebrate some of the work of Robert Burns including a series of 10 weather-vanes with scenes from the famous 'Tam O'Shanter', a very large mouse that could never be described as a 'wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie' and a fox inspired by his poem 'On Glenriddel's Fox Breaking His Chain'.

Alloway Auld Kirk

A short walk from the Poet's Path takes you to Alloway Auld Kirk, which is undeniably atmospheric and dare I say a little bit creepy!  This might have something to do with a childhood learning 'Tam O'Shanter' which features this ruined Kirk as the place poor Tam stumbles upon a macabre scene, with warlocks and witches dancing to a tune played on the bagpipes by the Devil.  A drunken Tam stupidly disturbs their antics and they pursue him and his grey mare, Meg, towards Brig O' Doon, where they narrowly escape over the bridge with their lives as the witches can't cross the running water, although poor Meg did lose her tail. 
Exploring here as an adult, I can still imagine that it is the sort of place that witches might gather.  The ornate and eerie headstones, coupled with iron mortsafes designed to stop grave robbers gave us all a chill which couldn't simply be blamed on the damp weather!
As you enter Alloway Auld Kirk, you also can't miss the grave of William Burns, Robert's father, complete with an epitaph on the rear of the headstone composed by the poet.

Burns Monument and Gardens

Walking around Alloway, the skyline is dominated by the Burns Monument which towers over colourful gardens below. The 70ft high Grecian style temple, designed by Sir Thomas Hamilton, was erected in 1823 thanks to funds raised by public subscription.  It was created as a tribute to Robert Burns and a way to let visitors enjoy views over the landscape that inspired much of his work.
The surrounding ornamental gardens are filled with bright shades and floral aromas, with a pathway leading to The Statue House, which was built in 1832 to house life-size sandstone statues of characters associated with Burns and his work.

Image Credit - Sean Elliott Photography for Barbour

Brig O' Doon

One of the most photographed sites in Alloway must be Brig O' Doon, particularly during weddings at the adjacent hotel (including my brother's!).  Despite being the location of the scary climax to 'Tam O'Shanter' when his horse just manages to outrun the pursuing witches, today it acts as a more romantic attraction in the village. As we meandered up the cobblestones of this pretty arched footbridge over the River Doon to admire the manicured view before us, we all agreed it was hard to believe such a fairy-tale setting was used by Burns in one of his most spooky poems!  The brig has become such an iconic site in Scotland that it even features on £5 notes.

Souter's Inn

Keeping with the Burns theme, we headed a little further south to the historic village of Kirkoswald to enjoy a late lunch at the recently opened Souter's Inn.  Built on the site of the old schoolhouse where Robert Burns studied in 1775, the thatched roof gives no clue to the contemporary yet cosy interior, complete with a stylish mezzanine level.
A bar, restaurant and patisserie offer everything you could ask for all under one roof and a roaring fire acts as an atmospheric focal point in the large space.  The painting with a scene from 'Tam O'Shanter' above the fireplace reminds you that you are still firmly in Burns country.  I absolutely love this place and I can see myself stopping off again whenever I'm in the area, in fact it was so good that I would even detour just to visit!
The set lunch menu filled with local produce was fantastic value, every dish was delicious and the portions generous.  The interior feel luxurious but not pretentious and the setting in Kirkoswald is perfect if you're exploring south Ayrshire, with Culzean Castle and Country Park just a few miles down the road.
Fans of Burns might also want to visit the 18th Century thatched cottage which was the former home of cobbler (souter) John Davidson, the real-life Souter Johnnie featured in 'Tam o’ Shanter'.  It is now cared for by the National Trust for Scotland and is just along the road from the Souter's Inn.

As we relaxed with some drinks, we all agreed that it had been a fascinating day following in the footsteps of Robert Burns and I couldn't wait to take Barbour on a tour of our next location in the Scottish Borders the following day...

Image Credit - Sean Elliott Photography for Barbour

Original Barbour Tartan Collection - Autumn/Winter 16

Touring the South of Scotland was not only about connecting with the heritage of Barbour, but also about celebrating the launch of their Original Barbour Tartan Collection for Autumn/Winter 16.  I chose items from the collection for our tour of Southern Scotland and for our visit to Alloway I opted for the Barbour Dee Tartan Dress (exploring Burns country calls for full on tartan!) and the Barbour Montrose Quited Jacket in black (a great match for the dress).

Credit for previous 3 images - Sean Elliott Photography for Barbour

My tour of Southern Scotland was in collaboration with Barbour, however as always, all opinions and experiences are my own.

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