Scottish History For Dummies

Burns Cottage is maintained to show what life was like for the Burnes family at the time of Rabbie’s birth. A short walk along Poet’s Path, past sculptures linked to some of his works, brings visitors to the recently built museum, which not only tells Burns’s story, but also houses the world’s largest and most important collection of his works and artefacts.

Across the road from Alloway Church lies Auld Alloway Kirk, which, in addition to being where Burns’s family worshipped when he was a child and the final resting place of his parents, is used as a scene in ‘Tam O’ Shanter’, one of his most famous poems. Make sure you have a copy of the poem handy when you visit, so you can picture the scene.

Burns Monument Gardens lie another short walk away, where the monument, designed by Thomas Hamilton, overlooks the River Doon and the Brig o’ Doon, where Tam O’ Shanter’s fleeing horse lost her tail in the poem. Look for the telling of the tale of Tam O’ Shanter along the Poet’s Path and watch out for

cutty sarks

(naked dancers)!

Alloway is a must-see for all those who love the poetry of Burns.

Whithorn

Whithorn, in the southwest of Scotland, developed after St Ninian, a fourth-century Christian missionary, built a church here around 397 AD. This church was known as the ‘Candida Casa’, or ‘White House’, because, unusually for the time, it was built of stone. This is the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, established more than a hundred years before St Columba came to Iona. A settlement grew up around it, with trade links to Gaul (France). By the end of the fifth century, Whithorn was importing fine wines and pottery and had an established port at the nearby peninsula, the Isle of Whithorn, making it, very possibly, the first town in Scotland.

The now ruined priory and the shrine of St Ninian, which it contained, made Whithorn one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in Scotland. Many notables – including Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots – visited here.

The area around Whithorn also has many ancient sites and places of interest to visit, including castles, tower houses, standing stones with cup and ring markings, Iron Age forts, farm steadings and medieval churches. The area also appeals to film buffs because many of the scenes in the classic horror movie

The Wicker Man

(1973) were filmed in the area, including the climactic final scene.

Beware of giant straw men!