J M Barrie's Birthplace

J M Barrie was born on 9 May 1860 in this whitewashed weaver's house in Kirriemuir, the ninth of ten children, and the family lived in the two upstairs rooms while his father worked the looms below. The wash house in the yard was his first theatre at the age of seven and is said to have inspired the Wendy house in Peter Pan. The National Trust for Scotland has furnished the rooms as the family knew them, box beds included, and next door an exhibition holds the London desk at which he wrote Peter Pan and costumes from the play's first production. A jungle-themed garden has a sculpture of Tick Tock the crocodile. Reviewers say the staff make the visit and it is a small, quiet place best taken slowly. Tips from visitors: the cottage is not wheelchair-accessible and the stairs are steep, parking is on the street outside or in the council car parks, and it opens four days a week from spring to autumn.