How can you have a story without a beginning? Until now the story of Robert Burns, our national bard, has been told with the opening of “born in Alloway on the 25th of January 1759………”. All the Burns’ trails promoted nationally ignore completely the life of Burns’ parents prior to their move to Alloway shortly before he was born, although many do include their deaths by way of directions to their gravestones!

Also omitted is the town of Maybole, possibly the most important place in the story because, if it were not for the market there, Burns’ parents might never have met and there would have been no story at all! Maybole Historical Society would like to see Maybole being given its proper prominence in the story alongside Alloway, Tarbolton, Irvine, Mauchline, Dumfries and other locations connected with the bard and will be working to correct all the omissions and promote Maybole as “THE START OF BURNS’ COUNTRY RIGHT IN THE VERY HEART OF IT!”

More about Robert Burns and his connection to Maybole.