Where to experience the best Burns Night in Edinburgh, London and across the UK

Five years after the death of Robert Burns, the first Burns supper was held in his birthplace, Alloway. In July 1801, haggis and sheep’s head were served while a group of the poet’s close friends read his works aloud. Over 200 years later, this celebration of Burns’s life has endured and morphed into a mid-winter tradition of pipe music, poetry and puddings, alongside a hearty helping of haggis, neeps and tatties.

The celebrations aren’t limited to Scotland. Across the UK, restaurants, hotels, pubs and halls breathe some much-needed warmth and life into blustery January evenings with ceilidh dances, haggis piped in and live poetry readings, all to honour one of Scotland’s most famous sons.

Here’s where to experience fine Scottish fare, thumping folk music and lyrical poetry on Burns Night this January.

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Part of the National Museum of Scotland’s Museum Lates programme, a huge Burns Night ceilidh will see the museum’s main hall once again buzz to life with hundreds of dancers. The Jacobites Ceilidh Band will be thumping out fast and frenzied traditional tunes while a caller talks through the steps for the Dashing White Sergeant and Strip the Willow. What’s more, you can have a look at the collections of Scotland’s biggest museum after hours, perhaps taking in Burns’s traditional chanter hewn from bone or a letter penned by his hand.

23 January, 7.30pm; £24

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The lilting wail of bagpipes will welcome diners aboard the royal yacht Britannia this Burns Night. On 24 January, the yacht’s butlers will serve a gourmet five-course meal in the grand State Room, where Queen Elizabeth II once dined at sea. The meal will be accompanied by a traditional Scot storyteller, folk music and the address to the haggis before a wee dram of Scottish single malt is served in the drawing room. Usually only open as a museum, this is a rare opportunity to experience the dining and drawing rooms as they were used by royalty for decades.

24 & 25 January; £255

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For a more intimate Burns Night experience, forgo the pomp of piping in the haggis and rowdy crowds of a ceilidh in favour of a quiet couples’ night in Scotland’s capital. Burns penned some of the most famous love poems after all, so perhaps whisper “My love is like a red, red rose” in the cosy snug of The Glasshouse Hotel while enjoying a quiet tipple from the extensive collection of single malts before retiring to a sumptuous bedroom with their Whisky Experience Package. In addition, a four-course Burns Night dinner is available on 24 January (£55 per person, with paired whiskies).

The Whisky Experience Package overnight stay is available throughout January; from £241 for two

For those religiously sticking to dry January and a new year running regime, a night of rich food and abundant whisky might not appeal. You can stick to your guns and pay your respects to The Bard with Innis & Runn: Rabbie’s Raceday – a 5k guided run through Edinburgh’s Old Town. The route weaves past the literary heritage sites of the Old Town, including the Burns Monument and places connected with his life. Ending at the Innis & Gunn Taphouse, a post-run lager (or 0.0% lager) awaits.

25 January; £8

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Burns Night gets a contemporary twist at one of Glasgow’s best-known fine-dining restaurants. Here, haggis will be served in tower form alongside neeps and tatties, and the cullen skink will be deconstructed and served with a jammy-yolked quail’s egg. The chef’s tasting menu will be accompanied by a piper, softly spoken recitals of Burns’s poetry, and the night culminates in a ceilidh.

Ubiquitous Chip’s event is on 26 January; £80

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In 1787, Burns first visited Stirling and penned the Stirling lines on a windowpane of the then Wingate’s Inn, now Golden Lion. The Stirling Burns Club still convene for their annual Burns Night supper at this central spot in the historic Scottish city. This year, you can spend the afternoon at Stirling Castle before eating, listening to stories of the bard’s visit to Stirling, learning some dance moves in the Chapel Royal and addressing the haggis yourself. The bard might also make an appearance, uttering an ode to a mouse or reciting a stanza of “Tam O’Shanter” throughout the afternoon.

25 January, from 11.30am £19.50 (event included with castle entry)

“Here am I, a woeful wight on the banks of Tyne,” Burns wrote about his only overnight trip outside Scotland. He was just south of the border, in Newcastle. Perhaps the only surviving dining room from Burns’ visit, Blackfriar’s Restaurant hosts an annual Burns celebration within its 13th-century walls. The thick stone walls of the former refectory (said to be the oldest dining room in the UK) provide the perfect backdrop to an evening of classic poetry, music and a hearty feast of haggis, neeps and tatties.

23 January, 7pm; £69.50

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The desolate hillsides and empty moors of North Yorkshire might be associated with the Brontes, but the scenery is akin to the heather-bruised hills of west Scotland that inspired Burns’s poetry. In the resplendent Grantley Hall near Ripon, Scotland, comes to Yorkshire for an evening. Live bagpipe music, a toast to the haggis and plenty of amber liquid courtesy of Glenmorangie will warm the cold January evening. Spend a blustery winter afternoon in the wild North Yorkshire countryside before you “coorie in” with Scottish fare and warm hospitality at Grantley Hall.

25 January, 7pm; £165

Burns supper is given a modern makeover at Sussex, Soho. Whisky cocktails will be served on arrival before a feast of fine Scottish produce whipped up into traditional dishes with a dash of modernity. Rest assured, haggis and cranachan will be at the heart of the menu, and there will be a side helping of live bagpipes, Scottish country dancing and, of course, poetry.

19-24 January, 7pm; £72

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It’s the night the club has waited all year for. On 24 January, the London Ceilidh Club celebrates Scotland’s most famous poet with a night of food, drink and, of course, dancing. A buffet of haggis, neeps and tatties fuels three hours of reels, waltzes and jigs in a vast hall. Don’t worry, there’s a master of ceremonies to talk you through the steps.

January 23 & 24, 8pm; £63

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