RSS Press releases
We publish all of our recent press releases online so you can keep up to date.
You can use special RSS software (or newer web browsers) to subscribe to an RSS feed of our recent press releases . Email pressenquiry@dumgal.gov.uk if you'd like further details on any of our press releases.
If you want to speak to a communications officer, you can find their working-hours telephone numbers and what areas of the council they cover at www.dumgal.gov.uk/pressenquiry.
Read our press releases as HTML >>
Recent releases
The anniversary of the death of Robert Burns will be marked at Burns House in Dumfries with a celebration of his life and works on Sunday 21st July between 2pm and 5pm. The poet lived the last three years of his life in the home and it was there that he died in 1796 aged 37.
Visitors will be able to explore the house, including the writing room where Burns penned some of his best-known songs, and the bedroom where he died. There will be a focus on his final days and those artefacts connected with his death.
To help mark Burns’ ongoing legacy, there will be the chance to enjoy tunes from award-winning piper Gregor Grierson as he performs outside the house through the afternoon, including in the new performance space in Burns’ Backyard.
Tours of Burns’ Dumfries will start from the Midsteeple at 2pm and 3.30pm, following the route and ending in St Michael’s Churchyard, with a chance to step inside the mausoleum where Burns was later reburied in 1815. Free guided tours start at the Midsteeple on Dumfries High Street at 2pm and 3.30pm.
Burns House is of international significance, being the place where the poet spent his final years producing works which are still sung today, and with artefacts and original manuscripts of the Bard, it makes the perfect place to mark this occasion. People will be welcomed to the house to discover this history and celebrate the impact of Burns’ works.
St Michael’s Church, where the poet worshipped, is just a short walk from the house. A memorial service will be held for Burns at 11am and the church will be open from 2-5pm for visitors to enjoy its history.
Events at the house run from 2pm to 4.30pm, house open 2-5pm.
All the activities are free of charge.
