The Poets Path in South Ayrshire Council, Scotland
Every year, thousands of tourists visit Burns Cottage, where Scotland’s most famous poet Robert Burns was born in January 1759. His celebrated works include poems such as Address to a Haggis, which is sung during New Year’s celebrations across the world.
Most visitors then jump into their cars and drive a short distance to the Burns Museum to check out more information.
In doing so, many sadly miss out on a ten-minute walkway that connects these two attractions. The path is complete with child-proof sculptures and beautiful iron-wrought weather vanes. They depict scenes from Burns’s epic poem, Tam O’Shanter.
The story follows a man named Tam, who got into a drunken adventure on his way home. After a heavy drinking session, Tam chanced upon a group of witches and Satan having a party. Emboldened with alcohol, he stopped to spy on the gathering. Unfortunately, he completely forgot himself in drunken foolhardiness and called out to one of the witches. Incandescent with rage, the witches gave chase.
As he fled to a nearby bridge the witches could not cross, one managed to remove the horses’ tail. The poem concludes with a warning about drinking irresponsibly.
