Ayr
Ayr is best known for its many connections with Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, who was born at Alloway, two miles to the south. The town's surviving links with the past offer a fascinating panorama of its long history.
The only substantial remains of the 12th century Church of St John the Baptist, is St John's Tower. It was in St John's that Robert the Bruce called a Scot's parliament in 1315, to decide upon his successor to the Scottish throne. In 1652, Cromwell's army incorporated the church into a part of the fortification they were building; its remains can still be seen. Cromwell compensated for his hijacking of the church, by helping finance the Auld Kirk in 1654. It still retains its original canopied pulpit, and has three galleries, known as the Merchant's, Sailor's and Trader's Lofts. In the lichgate are some iron grave-covers, employed in the days of body-snatchers.
Ayr's oldest domestic building, Loudoun Hall, has title deeds that go back to 1534, when it was the town house of the hereditary Sheriffs of Ayrshire. During the 18th century the Hall fell into decline, but this was arrested just in time and restoration was undertaken from 1938. Today Loudoun Hall looks as it did in the 16th century, and is open to visitors. The Town Buildings were designed by Thomas Hamilton of Edinburgh in 1828, and are especially notable for the magnificent 126ft high steeple, one of the finest in Britain. The upper part of the building consists of an octagonal turret with tall, narrow windows.
Where the River Ayr cuts through the centre of the town, it is spanned by two bridges, set close to each other - the Twa Brigs. The oldest of these, the 13th century Auld Brig, was immortalised by Robert Burns in his poem 'The Brigs of Ayr' as "a poor, narrow footpath of a street. Where two wheel-barrows tremble when they meet". The Auld Brig, restored in 1910 for pedestrian use only, stands next to the larger New Bridge, built in 1788 and rebuilt in 1878. The Auld Brig o' Doon, mentioned in Burn's poem 'Tam o' Shanter', still spans the River Doon, a simple 13th century arch flanked by beautiful gardens and tree-lined walks. Close by this bridge is Kirk Alloway, also mentioned in the poem; the church is now roofless and in ruin. The poet's father is buried in the church graveyard. The Burn's monument also lies close to the Brig o' Doon. Set amongst attractive gardens, the monument was designed by Thomas Hamilton Junior in the form of a Grecian temple, and erected in 1823. Inside are relics, including two bibles said to have been exchanged between Burns and 'Highland Mary' - his sweetheart Mary Campbell; there is also the wedding ring of Jean Armour, whom the poet married in 1788. The thatched Tam o' Shanter Inn, on Ayr's High Street, is now a Burns museum commemorating the poet's work. Every June the townsfolk celebrate Tam o' Shanter's nightmare ride, with a procession along the route that Burn's hero took.
Alloway, a short journey south from Ayr, is in the heart of Robert Burns country, here are the landscapes, towns and villages that inspired Scotland's national poet. Burns was born on the 25th January 1759, a date celebrated by Scotsmen all over the world as 'Burns Night'. He was born into the low, thatched, whitewashed cottage "auld clay biggin" that his father William had built two years earlier. This cottage was where Robert Burns lived for seven years, until his family moved to nearby Mount Oliphant; the cottage remains an object of pilgrimage for the poet's admirers from all corners of the world. It retains some of its original furniture, including the bed in which Burns was born. An adjoining museum contains original manuscripts, books, paintings and various memorabilia of the poet's life. The Land o' Burns Centre, next to Alloway Kirk, depicts his life and times.