Burns Night in Scotland: Where to Celebrate Robert Burns

On 25 January each year, Scots around the world sit down to a Burns Supper to celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns, the country's national poet. In Scotland itself, the end of January is a good time to visit the places most closely tied to his life: the cottage where he was born in Ayrshire, and the town of Dumfries, where he spent his last years.

At a glance

When: 25 January, with suppers and events on the nearest weekends too. Where: Alloway and Ayr in Ayrshire, and Dumfries. What: haggis, whisky, poetry and song. Booking: public Burns Suppers at hotels and venues sell out, so book ahead.

What happens at a Burns Supper

The format has changed little since Burns's friends first gathered in his memory in 1801, a few years after his death.

The running order

A supper usually opens with the Selkirk Grace. The haggis is piped in, and someone recites Burns's Address to a Haggis before cutting it open. After the meal come the main speech, the Immortal Memory, on Burns's life and work, and the toast to the lassies with its reply. The evening ends with everyone singing Auld Lang Syne, itself a song Burns wrote down and reworked.

The food

Haggis, neeps and tatties — mashed swede and potatoes — usually with whisky. Vegetarian haggis is widely available.

Burns country: Alloway and Ayr

Burns Cottage and the Birthplace Museum

Burns was born in 1759 in a clay-walled, thatched cottage his father had built two years earlier in Alloway, on the southern edge of Ayr. The cottage is now part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, run by the National Trust for Scotland, which holds the largest collection of Burns material in the world.

The Tam o' Shanter trail

Within walking distance of the cottage are the ruined Alloway Auld Kirk and the medieval Brig o' Doon — the setting for Tam o' Shanter, Burns's comic poem of a drunken farmer chased by witches. Reading it before you go makes the walk far more fun.

Dumfries

Burns spent the last years of his life in Dumfries, working as an exciseman, and died there in 1796.

Where to go

The Robert Burns House, where he lived and died, is open to visitors, and he is buried in a mausoleum in St Michael's churchyard nearby. The Robert Burns Centre, across the River Nith, tells the story of his time in the town. The Globe Inn, one of his favourite haunts, still serves drinks.

Planning a Burns weekend

Book a supper

Many hotels, pubs and community halls in Ayrshire and Dumfries host public Burns Suppers on or around 25 January. They are a much better introduction than trying to recreate one yourself.

Allow for winter weather

Late January in south-west Scotland is cold and often wet, with short days. Plan indoor visits for the afternoons and keep evenings for the suppers.

For more on the region, see our guides to Scotland and New Year staycations, which covers Hogmanay.