Annandale Distillery will be supporting Ellisland Museum and Farm – ‘The Rural home of Robert Burns’, in an historic agreement beginning in the new year.
Professor David Thomson, distillery owner and an ambassador of The Robert Burns World Federation, said: “We are very pleased to be the first corporate sponsor for Ellisland Farm, which Robert Burns built as his first marital home with Jean Armour, and where he wrote some of his most famous works, including Auld Lang Syne, and Tam o’Shanter.”
His co-custodian Teresa Church added: “Burns tourism is worth more than £20million to the economy of Dumfries and Galloway each year and we believe this will only grow as tourism returns to pre-pandemic levels.
“By working with Ellisland Museum and Farm in what will be the 226th year since Burns’ passing, we are showing that we support their plans to not only preserve and develop one of the most important Burns sites, but also to grow and introduce Burns to new audiences – young, old, local, national and international – which will increase visitor footfall to our amazing region.”
The couple hope the deal, which will start in Scotland’s Year of Stories, will allow the stories of both venues, as well as The Globe Inn in Dumfries which they also own, to be heard by a wider audience.
Thanking them, Ellisland business manager Joan McAlpine said: “We are very grateful to Annandale Distillery and the Globe Inn for their support and partnership. Annandale Distillery and the Globe Inn lead the way in Burns Tourism in Dumfries and Galloway and we look forward to working with them to further develop the incredible potential of literary tourism linked to the bard in this part of Scotland. “Ellisland is a fantastic cultural asset for the community – the home designed and built by Burns himself and the birthplace of Auld Lang Syne. The sponsorship will help us take its story to more people and develop its potential.”
