Scottish writers Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson shaped modern myths about Scotland and its heroes. Plan an itinerary around the sites that inspired them.
Even if you think you’ve never read a book by one of Scotland’s three literary giants, Scott, Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson, or seen a movie based on their work, you’ve likely fallen under their spells without even knowing it. .
If you’ve ever used the expression, for example, “The best plans of mice and men …” you are quoting directly from Burns’ poem, To a Mouse .
Did you wonder if your distant Scottish ancestors had a clan tartan? You can thank Sir Walter Scott for inventing, or at least reviving the concept of clan tartans.
And as far as Robert Louis Stevenson is concerned, every kid’s dream of finding a pirate’s hidden treasure map likely stems from his classic tale, Treasure Island .
All of the major landmarks associated with these writers are within easy reach of Glasgow or Edinburgh. If you visit Scotland, you can include them all in a few days.
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
In 2009, Scottish Television viewers voted Robert Burns (affectionately known as Rabbie Burns or Robbie Burns) as the best Scotsman (note: not the best Scottish writer or the best Scottish poet, but simply the best Scotsman).
The son of a poor tenant farmer, born in Alloway, south of the west coast town of Ayr, Burns was educated by his father and guardians, but was basically uneducated. Despite the lack of formal education, or perhaps because of it, Burns’s words are everywhere. We all sing at least some of Auld Lang Syne’s words every New Years Eve. Bob Dylan once said that Burn’s poem, A Red, Red Rose was the biggest influence on his own verses. And his line, “The best schemes of mice and men come together in the stern”, from To a Mouse not only forms the title of John Steinbeck’s novel and the subsequent movie and game, but has become a common expression when things get ugly. .
In 2010, the National Trust for Scotland opened the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, incorporating the Alloway Cottage where he was born with a bright and familiar new museum. There you can peruse some of the most important collections of his work, the pistol he was packing when he was working as a tax collector, a lock of his hair, and a variety of interactive exhibits for children. You can also explore the Burns Memorial Gardens and see the humpy Brig o ‘Doon, over which your hero Tam o’Shanter was forced to flee.
The museum, about 35 miles south of Glasgow (but only 7 miles from the city’s Prestwick Airport) is open year-round. Visit the museum’s website for current hours and prices, and for more information. The smart website even has a Survival Guide for Parents.
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, who wrote in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was praised in his lifetime for his production of more than two dozen novels plus several volumes of long narrative poems and stories.
The Scott Monument in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens is the tallest monument to a writer in the world, standing over 200 feet tall. If you are willing to climb the 287-step spiral stairs to the top, you can enjoy stunning views of the city and the surrounding countryside. Along the way, look for 64 statues of Scott’s characters.
Scott’s heavily written novels fell out of favor and were rarely read by the mid-20th century except by students. Yet the stories – Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady from the Lake, The Heart of Midlothian, and The Bride of Lammermoor are familiar from movies, opera, and adaptations. Our modern notion of the English hero Robin Hood is even said to derive from Robin of Locksley, a character in Ivanhoe.
Scott was very captivated by the romantic image of the Highlander and many believe that our modern concept of the traditional ‘Scotsman’ – the wearing of clan tartans, the deer hunts after the Glen Monarch, and so on – was actually invented by Sir Walter Scott. Certainly many of the baronial mansions built in the 19th century were influenced by Scott’s home, Abbotsford, a fantasy medieval castle filled with baronial arms, stained glass windows, and Gothic artwork.
Abbotford, near Melrose, is half an hour from Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. The house and garden are open from March to November and the visitor center and restaurant are open all year.
Stays and Weddings
There is even a wing of the house available for an overnight stay, what a delight for literary fans. The Hope Scott Wing, once home to Scott’s granddaughter, is available as a vacation rental for up to 15 people. Bed and breakfast is also available at times.
And you can get married there! Imagine the tartan wedding, the groom in a kilt, the pipers in the happy couple. Visit the Abbotsford website for more information.
Just up the road
Scott is buried at Dryburgh Abbey, one of Scotland’s great border abbeys. On the way between Abbotsford and Dryburgh, stop and admire Scotts View , an expansive view of the Eildon Hills, a row of strangely shaped volcanic plugs. According to the story, Scott’s horse was so used to stopping here while Scott admired the view that, as he was pulling the hearse to Scott’s funeral, the horse stopped as usual, as if taking one last look at Scott. Read more about Scott’s View on my Great Scenic Drives in Great Britain.
Robert Louis Stevenson
You probably know that this Edinburgh-born writer created Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and A Child’s Garden of Verses.
But did you know that he is credited with the invention of the sleeping bag? Stevenson picked up a fleece-lined sleeping bag while researching Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes on a hike in France.
From the age of six until he left for California in 1880 (where he nearly died of malaria and later married an American woman), Stevenson lived at 17 Heriot Row in Edinburgh. The house, now appropriately known as The Stevenson House, is privately owned and functions as a venue for private meetings and events. There are also two rooms, one double and one twin, which can be booked for a bed and breakfast.
At the time of writing (March 2016), the Stevenson House website appeared to be down. Try calling +44 (0) 131 556 1896.
The Writers Museum, Edinburgh
More information on Scotland’s three literary heroes can be found at the Writers Museum on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Each of the three floors of the small museum is dedicated to one of the writers. The screens are eccentric and idiosyncratic. You can, for example, admire Stevenson’s riding boots, the printing house on which Scott’s Waverley novels were printed, or a cast of Burns’ skull. One poignant object is a ring given to Stevenson by a Samoan chief (Stevenson died in Samoa). The ring is engraved with the world ‘Tusitala’, which apparently means ‘storyteller’.
