Robert Burn's Cottage

A respectfully small and simple cottage, situated at the roadside edge of a busy route through Alloway, denotes the fairly insignificant start to life of a boy who was to become Scotland's most-renowned literary figure. It was here in 1759 that Robert Burns was born to William and Agnes Burnes, the first of seven children that were raised in near poverty. His father was a market-gardener from Kincardineshire who had built the traditional two-roomed cottage with clay walls and a thatched roof on his newly acquired plot of land a few years earlier, never suspecting that one day it would become one of the most visited dwellings in the world.

Although Robert Burns only lived at the cottage until he was seven years old, the appeal of this authentically restored building is enhanced by a museum exhibiting original manuscripts and other personal memorabilia. From this treasured and diverse collection, a funny, romantic and loveable genius begins to emerge, urging the visitor to discover more about his short life. By the age of 15 Robert Burns had composed his first song, and during his lifetime he had contributed in some way to over 360 Scottish folk songs.

All his earliest poems took the form of songs because Burns had a wonderful sense of rhythm, and he found it easier adding lyrics to a tune he had recently composed in his head rather than try to fit a tune around words he had written. Probably his best remembered work is the tale of 'Tam O'Shanter', a darkly comical verse based on childhood memories of folk legends and places in Alloway. At 26 Robert Burns became a father of twins, but the love affair between him and Jean Armour did not meet with approval, and it was three years later before they eventually married. Never making a fortune from his publications, Robert Burns was employed as an Excise Officer in Dumfries for the last five years of his life and numerous artefacts and 'tools of the trade' from this period are also displayed in the museum.

Despite being adapted for use as an alehouse during the 19th century, 'Burn's' Cottage as seen today is very much as it would have been when first built. Still smelling strongly of burnt peat logs, smoke and the mustiness of warm, damp straw, the cramped cottage presents a vivid picture of the life endured by the young Burns' family. A 'byre' or animal shed leads into a plainly furnished sitting room, barely big enough to accommodate the family of six, and next door was the main living, eating and sleeping area. This room, referred to as the kitchen, is an exact representation of its appearance on the day Robert Burns was born, the original box-style bed taking pride of place.

Living to an age of 37 years only, Robert Burns succeeded in making an enormous impact on Scotland and its people, and his immortalisation can be better understood with the benefit of a tour of this lowly, whitewashed cottage.