Dumfriesshire’s historic Ellisland Farm has been awarded funding to subsidise school visits.
The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, which runs the property and land where the bard wrote Auld Lang Syne, has been given £3,000 from national agency, Museums Galleries Scotland.
Part of the Museums’ Recovery Fund to combat long term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the grant will help subsidise the entrance costs of schools wanting to bring their pupils to see Ellisland, which has changed little since the poet built it in 1788.
The school visit scheme is part of a £17,000 grant from MGS and is the latest funding success for the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust which took over running the site in 2020.
They recently received funds from The Holywood Trust to support jobs in 2022-23 and commission a masterplan for the site, which is also supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund in Scotland.
That will be used to engage with the public to create a community and learning resource and first class heritage attraction which can support itself commercially.
The subsidy means that schools which apply will have the entrance fee of £2.50 per pupil and £5 per accompanying adult met. All schools are eligible and the grant is not means tested.
However, they need to apply to the scheme and the funds are allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Welcoming the cash boost, Joan McAlpine, the trust’s business development manager, told the Standard that as a charity it has no ongoing government funding and depends on entrance fees, donations, memberships and grants to keep going.
She said: “Unlike council and government museums, we need to charge for entry and for some schools that might be prohibitive. So for 2022-23 more pupils will now get to enjoy this incredibly important site – which was entirely created by Burns himself and is categorised as exceptionally significant.
“We are very grateful to Museums Galleries Scotland for supporting our scheme.”
As well as seeing where Burns lived and worked, both as a farmer and a poet, pupils can explore the outdoor space such as the orchard and paths where he wrote Tam o’ Shanter and To A Wounded Hare. The farm also has an extensive collection of machinery spanning two centuries, including dairy and domestic equipment.
Joan said: “We work with schools to deliver the kind of experience they want. For example, Shawhead Primary, who visited before we got this funding, explored the outdoors as well as the buildings.
"It was great to see the pupils running around completing the worksheets and writing their own poems under the trees in the orchard.”
To apply, schools need to fill in an online form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mD0q_mZaX7IbdiARr6yopfD75_mWpKSbBp6-vMC8NIg/edit?usp=sharing or contact the trust via email at info@ellislandfarm.co.uk, or call 01387 740426.
