Robert Burns inspired the naming of 720 streets across the UK

The legacy of Robert Burns extends far beyond his poetic contribution to the world - and quite possibly to your front door.
Do you live on a Burns inspired street? Picture: JPDo you live on a Burns inspired street? Picture: JP
Do you live on a Burns inspired street? Picture: JP

The famous Scot inspired the naming of a staggering 720 streets across the UK, with 272 towns and cities containing at least one address honouring the life and works of the Bard.

According to the Royal Mail, Glasgow and Ayr contain the most Burns-related addresses in the UK, however some of the more surprising hotspots include Wellingborough, Rotherham and Mansfield.

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A Glasgow restaurant is selling a full Burns supper on a pizza
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Although 42 per cent of Burns-related streets are in Scotland, his legacy is clearly strongly felt across the nation.

Over 330 Burns Road, Avenue and Close addresses stretch from Cowdenbeath to Coventry.

The various homes featuring throughout Burns’ poetry serve as inspiration for a spate of British street names (121), in addition to the main women in his life (76). There are three Jean Armour Avenues in Edinburgh, and a Clarinda Crescent in Mauchline, Ayrshire.

Several other Burns Night-related addresses - including neeps, haggis and even Auld Lang Syne – also exist around the United Kingdom

Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit analysed over 30 million addresses to reveal the extent of Scotland’s national poet’s impact on the UK.

Other than the man himself, the various homes that he lived in throughout his life were a primary source of inspiration (121); including 14 Lochlea and 16 Mosgiel related addresses in Glasgow, and five Mount Oliphant in Ayr. The women in his life have also proven to be muses for the nation’s street names; with 76 streets related to Clarinda (Agnes Craig), Jean Armour and Mary Campbell.

Some other fascinating facts unearthed by the research include that several addresses are influenced by some of the poet’s most iconic verses, including Auld Lang Signs graphic designers in Irvine, Red Rose Lane in Pentre, Wales and Tam O’Shanter Drive in Stirling.

Some of the most surprising Rabbie hotspots include seven Burns Road addresses in Wellingborough, four Burns Ways in Rotherham and five Robert Burns Avenues in Cheltenham.

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Burns Road addresses exist all over London, including three in Willesden, five in Clapham and one in Perivale. There is also a Robert Burns Mews in Herne Hill.

There are various street names around the country shaped by the more culinary aspects of Burns Night, including Haggis Gap in Cambridge, Neeps Croft in Nottingham and Dundee’s Old Whisky Road.

Here are the top 20 Robert Burns hotspots of the UK:

Glasgow (72 street names)

Ayr (25)

London (19)

Greenock (16)

Mauchline (16)

Clydebank (14)

Edinburgh (13)

Stirling (12)

Kilmarnock (10)

Manchester (10)

Bathgate (9)

Mansfield (9)

Dumfries (8)

Dundee (8)

Nottingham (8)

Sheffield (8)

Ardrossan (7)

Doncaster (7)

Rotherham (7)

Saltcoats (7)

Royal Mail is marking the celebration of Robert Burns’ birth with a special Burns Night postmark, featuring the first two lines of his famous Address to a Haggis. The postmark will appear on mailed items around the UK this week.