Our location is ideal as a base for your exploration of this dramatic corner of Ayrshire. A web of public footpaths criss-cross rolling fields and coastline, from Kirkoswald to Culzean Castle and beyond.
There's four historical 'must sees' when you visit The House of Burns - every one of them within a very short stroll from your starting point outside in the courtyard between Souter Johnnie's Inn and Peggy's Tearoom.
Souter Johnnie's Inn
Robert 'Rabbie' Burns is the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. During his short life Scotland's cultural icon spent many days in the village of Kirkoswald in the summer of 1775 as a handsome 16 year old boy, attending school on the site of today's Souter Johnnie's Inn.
Robert Adam Church
On an elevated site behind Souter Johnnie's Inn is Scotland's only Robert Adam Church commissioned by the 9th Earl of Cassillis before 1777 when Adam was working on the Earl's castle at Culzean.
Local legend has it that Robert Burns was inspired to write his poem 'To a Louse' on seeing one on a ladies collar when attending a church service.
Souter Johnnie's Cottage
Two minutes' walk from The House of Burns is Souter Johnnie's Cottage containing artefacts and manuscripts of Burns.
A visit to this cottage is like stepping back into life at the end of the 1700s. One room is dedicated to the Souter 'shoemakers' workshop and is crammed with the tools of the shoemaker's trade. Another step takes you into the parlour, and yet another into the bedroom. Where else can you live and breathe such history?
It doesn't end with the inside of the cottage - stroll into the idyllic garden behind the cottage and you'll discover the restored thatched alehouse. Peeking inside you'll see marvellous life-size statues of Tam o' Shanter, Souter Johnnie, the Innkeeper and the Innkeeper's wife from the poem Tam o' Shanter and carved in 1830 by the sculptor James Thom.
Kirkoswald 'Old' Parish Church and Graveyard
The ruins and graveyard of this historical location are visible from the windows of Souter Johnnie's Inn and is most famous for being the place where the font used in the baptism of Robert the Bruce is situated.
Various characters in Burns' writing were based on people he met during his time in the village. 'Souter Johnnie' (who appears in Tam O'Shanter) was based on John Davidson whose tiny cottage is just a stone's throw away from The House of Burns.
'Kirkton Jean', based on Jean Kennedy who was a landlady in the village inn, Burns' maternal grandparents and great grandparents, his teacher Hugh Rodger, all of whom are buried in the Old Kirkyard - so a stroll amongst the ghosts of times past is guaranteed to have you spellbound.
Costley & Costley Hotels, Winner of Hotel Group of the Year 2011
