Birthday bow for Robert Burns’ 256th birthday

THE BIRTHPLACE of Robert Burns is to be wrapped up in a big red bow as part of this year’s events to mark his 256th birthday.

The cottage where Scotland’s Bard was born in Alloway, Ayrshire, is being adorned for the Big Burns Birthday Bash, in events held over 24 and 25 January.

A series of events are scheduled for the Alloway 1759 festival which celebrates all things Burns and takes place over the weekend closest to his 256th birthday at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.

The events, run by the National Trust for Scotland, include a ceilidh and a “haggis pass”.

Event organiser Stuart Cochrane said today: “The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum has got Burns’ birthday all wrapped up, so come and celebrate the bard’s 256th birthday with us.

“We’ve put together our biggest party programme ever, at the very spot where the great man was born.”

Along with the Auld Kirk and Brig o’ Doon, the cottage where Burns was born has been combined with the Burns Monument and the new award-winning museum building to form the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.

Since opening to the public in December 2010, the museum has welcomed more than a million visitors and has won a series of accolades including being selected as a finalist for the prestigious Art Fund prize, securing a five star rating from VisitScotland.