Today we visited the birthplace of Robert Burns. It was either that or pack up and go home, so we thought we'd give old Rab a chance. The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum is in Alloway, just down the road from Craig Tara. We passed it on the way and knew our NTS cards would get us in for free and give us an hour or so's amusement. What we didn't realise was that the museum, the cottage where Burns was born, the monument built for him and Brig'o'doon (the bridge in the poem Tam O'Shanter) were all within a few minutes walk from one another. We tied up the scooters at the museum and went exploring. First up was the cottage. The girls really enjoyed looking around the rooms of the cottage and seeing what they were all used for. The gardens were pretty too, with lots of interesting things to look at, like chickens, the veg patch and an awesome woven sculpture of Tam O'Shanter on his horse, Meg (when she still had her tail!). We then walked back along Poet's Path, with its sculptures and wind vanes, to the museum, where we had a tasty lunch. The girls were itching to explore the museum exhibition, so off we went on a mousie (mouse) hunt. It's fair to say we were pretty blown away by the museum - it was really, really good. A huge space packed full of exhibits and loads of interactive displays to keep the girls busy. I think it's fair to say that we all learned a lot and enjoyed it too - which I never thought I'd say about Robert Burns! We never did find all the mice, apparently there's over 30 of the wee devils, but we did our best. With the museum and cottage done, it was time to visit Brig'o'doon and the Burns monument. We climbed to the top of the bridge, where I tried to explain that the spooky poem wasn't real and that witches didn't really chase people, then we looked around the monument and its gardens. The monument is in a bit of a state and there's lots of fundraising happening to help restore it to its former glory. Rabbie kept us busy for most of the day, and it was nearly dinner time by the time we scooted back to the park. We thought we'd go for a swim before we ate, but that was short lived as they started closing it up just as we arrived, 45 minutes before the official closing time. That just about sums up the whole stay here at Craig Tara. A bit of a mistake but thankfully not a particularly expensive one! See where else we visited with our National Trust membership.
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