Alloway

Alloway in Ayrshire is the home village of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, who penned wonderful odes to mice and men (and yes, notoriously, many women too) and even gave the world its favourite song, the New Year anthem ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Nowadays Alloway is a shrine to its most famous son, with enough Burns-related attractions to fill a whole day, from his house down to the Brig o’ Doon where Burns himself whiled away many an hour. Venturing uphill the wonderfully overblown Burns Monument reaches skywards, a potent symbol of the special place the poet holds in Scottish hearts, and just around the corner is the funky new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum – very hands-on, and brilliant for all ages.