Bachelors' Club

The Bachelors' Club is a thatched 17th-century house in Tarbolton where Robert Burns, then farming at nearby Lochlea, co-founded a debating society with his brother Gilbert and five friends in 1780, learned to dance against his father's wishes and, in 1781, was initiated as a freemason. The upstairs room reached by an outside stair is where the club met to argue the questions of the day under ten rules Burns wrote, while downstairs is an 18th-century living space with box beds and a fireside, all cared for by the National Trust for Scotland. Guided tours tell the story of Burns's formative years and the village. Reviewers say it is small, one room up and one down, but a gem for anyone following the Burns trail, and praise the attendants. Tips from visitors: allow half an hour, park on the street close by, the upper room is 12 steps up with no lift, and it opens four afternoons a week in summer.