Plans to save a farm in Scotland where Robert Burns wrote some of his most famous works have been unveiled by a charity.
Ellisland Farm, on the banks of the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, was built by the poet in 1788 for his wife Jean Armour and their family.
It was there he wrote pieces such as Auld Lang Syne and Tam O’Shanter.
The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust now hopes to develop the site as a visitor attraction, with plans to make the farmhouse into an “immersive space” where visitors can experience the couple’s domestic life.
The proposals also include artistic residencies, allowing a new generation of artists, musicians and writers to be inspired by the same landscape that Burns described as “sweet poetic ground”.
New accommodation will be modelled on the Hermitage, a tiny bothy on the neighbouring Friars Carse estate, where Burns would escape to write.
The proposals are based on the principle of “conservation through use” with money raised from visitors and creative retreats used to subsidise community, heritage and educational events.
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A new visitor centre will be built at the site – which lies outside the village of Auldgirth – with a cafe and an exhibition space where various items and artefacts from Ellisland’s collection will go on show, including manuscripts and some of Burns’ possessions, such as his books, flute and fishing rod.
The plans are now on public display, and a community drop-in event will take place, with a digital campaign being funded by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Community Led Vision Fund.
‘These proposals will bring Ellisland alive’
Dr David Hopes, acting chair of the Trust, said: “Ellisland’s conservation management plan, funded by Historic Environment Scotland and published last year, identified the site as being of ‘exceptional significance’ but said it was at risk unless extensive repairs were carried out.
“These plans will save the buildings by conserving them through use, safeguard the important collection and allow many more people to enjoy the site and benefit from it.”
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Joan McAlpine, business development manager at the Trust, added: “These proposals will bring Ellisland alive by enabling new generations to be inspired as Burns was inspired by what he called the ‘sweet poetic ground’ on the Banks of the Nith.
“We believe people will want to come from all over the world to immerse themselves in the landscape which inspired Auld Lang Syne, Ye Banks and Braes, John Anderson and many more songs.”
