Help Us Save the
Home of Auld Lang Syne
Watch our film on why this cultural treasure of world significance is now at risk.
Ellisland is unique. Built by Robert Burns, it inspired his greatest work.
Now we need your your help to save it for future generations
Here, beside the River Nith, Burns built a home for Jean Armour and their children, and created some of the most iconic works in world literature, including Auld Lang Syne, Tam o Shanter, and My Heart’s in the Highlands.
The only house he ever designed and built, Ellisland remains the most authentic and best-preserved. Set in a landscape shaped by Burns’s own hand, it is the best place to see nature through the poet’s eyes. For many decades it was cared for by dedicated volunteers who created a museum with a significant collection. But time, weather, and financial pressures have taken their toll.
Without urgent action, we face the loss of a cultural treasure and the home where the world’s song of friendship was born. The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust has launched a £12 million campaign to save Ellisland, safeguard its precious collection, and reimagine it as a place where future generations can be inspired through conservation, creativity, and community.
Robert Burns Ellisland Museum & Farm
The home of Auld Lang Syne.
Ellisland Farm was built by Robert Burns in 1788 for his young wife Jean Armour and their family.
Burns was especially creative at Ellisland, writing a quarter of his songs and poems including Auld Lang Syne and Tam o Shanter. During his time here, his focus moved to song-writing and collecting, including My Heart’s in the Highlands, The Banks of Doon, Killiecrankie and John Anderson. Burns chose Ellisland for its beautiful setting beside the River Nith. It has changed little since the 18th century and remains the most authentic of all his homes.
Visit Ellisland to fall in love with Burns and see nature through the poet’s eyes by walking in his footsteps on our peaceful riverside and woodland paths.
Save the Home of Auld Lang Syne
Find out more about our exciting plans to preserve Ellisland and bring it back to life as Burns would have known it.
Stay at Ellisland
Book a holiday at the Auld Acquaintance Cottage. We recently featured as a magical getaway in “Alba”, The Times Scotland’s weekly lifestyle supplement.
Visit Ellisland
Walk in the footsteps of Burns and see nature through the poet’s eyes. We are open for the season and we look forward to welcoming you to Ellisland.
Ellisland Events
Experience music and literature by Robert Burns in the barn he built. Watch this space for our upcoming summer events
Image credit: Duncan Ireland for South of Scotland Destination Alliance
Burns’s Songs and Poems
Learn more about Burns’s creative output at Ellisland, where he penned some of his most famous working, including Auld Lang Syne and Tam o Shanter.
Image credit: Ian Findlay for the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust
Our Campaign
Ellisland Farm is Robert Burns’s best preserved home. It’s the “sweet poetic ground” which inspired him, and the best place to see nature through his eyes. Now it’s under threat. Help us save this precious place.
Burns’s Life at Ellisland
What brought Robert Burns and Jean Armour to Ellisland? Learn more about the relationship and why the move to Dumfriesshire was a time of great optimism.
Funding Partners
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
We Are Part Of…
