Robert Burns Birthplace Museum

Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759 in the thatched clay cottage his father William built at Alloway, two and a half miles south of Ayr, and the National Trust for Scotland's museum village grows out from it. The cottage is kept as the family's home and byre; the modern museum on Murdoch's Lone holds more than 5,000 Burns objects, including the manuscripts of Auld Lang Syne and Tam o' Shanter, his pistols and his writing desk; and the 500-metre Poet's Path links the two past Alloway Auld Kirk, where Tam saw the witches dance, the Brig o' Doon he fled across, and the 1823 Burns Monument where Burns tourism began. Dogs on a lead are welcome in the garden areas, including the cafe garden, but not in the museum or cottage. Reviewers say one ticket covering both sites is good value, praise the guides and rate the cafe's breakfasts and river view. Tips from visitors: park at either the cottage or the museum, the museum runs quieter accessible openings on the first Tuesday afternoon of each month, and the cafe serves haggis, neeps and tatties.