01/24/2026
January is just flying by and Burns Night is almost upon us! Are you all familiar with Burns Night and Robert Burns?
Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Scotland on 25th January, 1759. Also referred to as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's Favourite Son, the Ploughman Poet and the Bard of Ayrshire. There is only one other person in history, past or present who's birthday is celebrated the world over more than Scotland's National Bard.!
Burns Suppers will be celebrated by both locals and all around the world in the time honoured fashion which includes eating a Traditional Scottish Meal, the Celebration of the Haggis, drinking Scotch Whisky with Toasts and the recitation of works by, about, and in the spirit of the Bard.
At the age of fifteen, he fell in love and shortly thereafter he wrote his first poem, primarily in the Auld Scots Dialect. His first collection was an immediate success and he was celebrated throughout England and Scotland as a great "peasant-poet." He is also well known for the over three hundred songs he wrote which celebrate love, friendship, work, and drink with often hilarious and tender sympathy including, "My Love is Like a Red Red Rose", "Ae Fond Kiss" and "Auld Lang Syne."
Over his very brief life, Robert fathered fourteen children and not all to his wife Jean Armour, the love of his life and affectionately called "Bonny Jean". Burns died in Dumfries at the age of 37, on the morning of 21st July 1796. The funeral took place on Monday 25th July 1796, also the day that his son Maxwell was born. Over 30,000 people paid their respects!
In Dumfries you can visit his grave site at St. Michaels Kirkyard. You can also visit Burns' House Museum where he lived with his beloved Bonny Jean. The poet's autograph is scratched in the window with a diamond ring, and you can see the room where he died. In Dumfries you can also visit the Burns Centre and stop by the Globe Inn which was one of Burns' favorite haunts. Have a "wee dram" and visit the site of the first Burns Suppers in 1819 in this 400 year old inn where every corner is steeped in the history of Robert Burns.
Not far from Dumfries, you can visit Burns' farm at Ellisland where he tried his hand at farming. “Typically, Burns chose this place more for its romantic, idyllic setting than the quality of the soil,” says Les Byers, the curator of Ellisland Farm.
In Alloway you can also visit Burns Cottage and Museum, a two roomed thatched cottage his father built and where Burns was born. Just down the road in Mauchline there is the red brick Burns House where the poet lived from 1788 with his wife Jean Armour. It was about this time that his poems were first published. A prized copy of the Kilmarnock edition survives along with personal artefacts, letters and manuscripts.
If you are not familiar with the bard or Burns Night, follow this link to Visit Scotland's Burns Night webpage.
https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/events/burns-night
