£12m campaign aims to save and restore Burns' farm

A NEW campaign to save Robert Burns’s Ellisland Farm has been launched, with an ambitious fundraising goal.

It seeks to raise £12 million to restore the only home built by Burns, and safeguard a collection of national importance, and create a world-class cultural destination that connects the poet’s legacy with contemporary creativity.

Despite its heritage significance, Ellisland faces serious challenges. The category A listed building has suffered from years of damp, decay and structural deterioration. A 2021 conservation study funded by Historic Environment Scotland confirmed that the buildings could not safely house the museum’s collection without extensive repair and restoration.

Detailed plans to restore and revive the site are currently being drawn up, with completed designs due to be revealed in early 2026.

Explaining more, project curator Adam Dickson said: “The Ellisland collection is hugely important, but it’s under threat from environmental conditions that make proper care impossible.

“We are still making discoveries, the Barnbougle Papers, for example, have given us unprecedented insight into how Burns furnished his home and managed his farm.

“Creating a dedicated museum space will deepen our understanding of Burns’s creative process and his life with Jean and their family at Ellisland, while also providing new, valuable opportunities for visitors to experience this important place.”

During his time at Ellisland he wrote Tam o Shanter, My Heart’s in the Highlands, Banks and Braes, and more than a quarter of his total output.

Project director Joan McAlpine added: “This campaign is about reconnecting people with the landscape and creativity that shaped Burns’s greatest works.

“This site has immense potential as both a cultural destination and an engine for regional economic regeneration. We’re building a place where today’s artists and musicians can find inspiration in the same surroundings that gave us Auld Lang Syne, while creating sustainable opportunities for our local community and visitors from around the world.”