Robbie Burns Museum
We were returning from our walk around Loch Doon, Scotland to visit see the Ospreys and decided to stop off in Alloway.
My daughter loves poetry so the idea of a museum dedicated to Robbie Burns was a must see on our holiday. We were not disappointed. The first place that the children made a beeline for was the play area.
Some of the elements were on the young size for my older boy at 12. However he still managed to enjoy himself and we had to drag him away to see the rest of the attractions.
Brig O'Doon
We took a walk towards the Robbie Burns Monument, which was unfortunately being renovated but it was set within beautiful gardens. There was also a small building with statues inside with a voice commentary about the history of the area and the statues. We walked through the gardens to get to Brig O'Doon, from the Robbie Burns 'Tam O'Shanter' poem. I was told that the bridge was originally positioned further up the river Doon. As foot and vehicle traffic increased a new bridge was needed so the original 'Brig O'Doon' was taken stone by stone and reassembled as a foot bridge.
We walked back through the gardens and headed to the old church. This is where Robbie Burns Father's grave sits with an inscription written by Robbie Burns.
Poets Path
After this we headed along the poets path towards the birthplace of Robbie Burns. Along the way there are lots of things to see from the amazing ironwork depicting the works of Robbie Burns to an 8 foot mouse.
Robbie Burns Birthplace
It took roughly 10 minutes to walk to the thatched building which has regular tours. We decided to walk through the building without the tour. The children were intrigued to see how people lived with their animals 300 years ago and how everyone slept altogether in one room.
Choosing to walk back rather than waiting for the shuttle bus we headed back to the main building and entered the museum.
It was quite a dark space so I didn't attempt to photograph the exhibits. I can say I was very pleased with how interactive it was. The children enjoyed many of the exhibits where they could draw, watch, answer questions, listen and play while learning about the works of Robbie Burns. Definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the vicinity.
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1 thought on “Robbie Burns Birthplace – Alloway, Scotland”
Gemma Stringer
(October 7, 2018 - 8:14 pm)We are going to Scotland at the end of the month with our kids. Will check this out thanks. Also like your north Wales post – We loved it there too