Burns Cottage
The thatched cottage in Alloway where Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759, built by his father, part of the Birthplace Museum.
Robert Burns was born in this long, low, whitewashed cottage on 25 January 1759, and he lived here for the first seven years of his life.
His father, William Burnes, built it, and a black plaque on the thatched wall marks it as the poet's birthplace.
It was a modest home, with four rooms under its thatched roof: two for the family and two for the animals. In the kitchen, a box bed set into an alcove is the very place where Scotland's national poet was born.
The cottage is part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, and one ticket covers both. From the cottage, the Poet's Path leads 500 metres to the museum, past sculptures from Burns's poems. The cottage opens every day through the year.
Open daily, 11am to 4.30pm from April to September and 11am to 3.30pm from October to March; one ticket with the museum.
- Where
- Alloway, KA7 4PY.
- Born here
- 25 January 1759.
- Ticket
- With the museum; adult £12.
Opening hours
- Monday
- 11am–4.30pm
- Tuesday
- 11am–4.30pm
- Wednesday
- 11am–4.30pm
- Thursday
- 11am–4.30pm
- Friday
- 11am–4.30pm
- Saturday
- 11am–4.30pm
- Sunday
- 11am–4.30pm
In Alloway, 2.5 miles south of Ayr, at the end of the Poet's Path from the museum.
Alloway Auld KirkThe kirk of the witches' dance.Under a mile1 min by road
Brig o’ DoonTam o' Shanter's bridge.Under a mile1 min by road
Burns MonumentA 70-foot Grecian temple to Robert Burns, built from 1820 to 1823 in gardens above the Brig o' Doon, where Burns tourism began.Under a mile2 min by road
Robert Burns Birthplace MuseumThe museum along the path.Under a mile2 min by road
The Fox & Willow1 mile4 min by road
Scotland, in print.
Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.
For further reading, before you go.