Witches and warlocks in a dance

By MARGARET HENDERSON

Margaret Henderson makes a cautious journey by Alloway's auld haunted kirk.

ROBERT Burns's pen had a way of preserving everything it touched, whether in Alloway or beyond -- its earliest success probably achieved in 1813, when a proposal to demolish the old Brig o' Doon was drowned in a clamour of protest.

The fifteenth century hump-backed bridge is the oldest attraction in the recently designated Burns National Heritage Park, which Her Majesty the Queen will visit on July 5 to officially open the Tam o' Shanter Experience. And the keystone of its arch we remember not as the old Kyle-Carrick boundary, but as the spot where Tam made good his escape from the fair witch Cutty Sark in the tale that Burns considered his masterpiece.

Replacing the old Land o' Burns Centre, on the site of the former railway goods yard, the Tam o' Shanter Experience Visitor Centre is one of the first fruits of next year's commemoration of the poet's death on July 21, 1796. A 12-minute spectacular audio-visual interpretation of the famous narrative poem is in store, preceded by ''Discover Burns'' the tried and tested 10-minute biography of the poet's 37[1/2] years.

In Burns's cottage a superb audio-visual affectionately tells the story of young Robert's first seven years before the move to neighbouring Mount Oliphant. We smile to see brought to life the waxwork figure in the next room, as William Burnes endeavours to teach his first-born the Parable of the Sower. Burnes senior, a devout man, wrote his own manual of religious instruction. It is one of the treasures of the adjacent museum, along with the verses of Tam o' Shanter and Auld Lang Syne in the poet's own hand.

William Burnes is buried in the graveyard of Alloway Auld Kirk. On the headstone (a copy of the original, which was damaged by souvenir-hunters) is inscribed Robert's eloquent epitaph to ''the tender father and the generous friend''. Burns's mother outlived her famous son by 24 years.

By 1790 when Tam o' Shanter came to be composed, Kirk Alloway lay abandoned and in a ruinous state -- contemporary prints show only one-third or so of the roof timbers still in place. It was the ideal for a tale of witchcraft. Dating from the early 1500s, the old kirk seems very small to the modern eye, but in those far-off days the congregation stood at worship.

Across the road, Alloway Parish Church (1858) has some fine stained glass. One ornamental window commemorates the Ayrshire aviation pioneer, David F McIntyre, whose bi-plane took part in the first flight over Everest in 1933. Controversy surrounded the building of this fine Gothic church, for it blocked the view of the Burns Monument approaching visitors had enjoyed for 40 years.

The idea of a monument to Burns ''within his native country'' was conceived by Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, Member of Parliament and Worshipful Depute Grand Master of the Most Ancient Lodge Kilwinning. Boswell himself laid the foundation stone on January 25 1820. The completion ceremony took place in 1823 on July 4, the anniversary of Robert Burns's induction into St David's Lodge Tarbolton, but Boswell did not live to see it. He had been killed in a duel the year before.

In the years following the '45 Rebellion the impoverished magistrates of Ayr sold the lands of the Barony of Alloway. Huge sums of money were to be lavished by wealthy men on the creation of the estates of Rozelle and Belleisle. Burns's father was first attracted to Alloway by the prospect of well-paid employment in the landscaping of these estates, and feued 7[1/2] acres of Belleisle for his cottage and market garden.

In 1968 the Hamiltons of Rozelle House gave the mansion and estate to the people of Ayr ''for cultural and recreational purposes''. The stable block is now an art gallery, a Henry Moore sculpture reclines in the old stable yard and the mansion houses a permanent exhibition of local history and municipal regalia. In the magnificent grounds are a variety of exotic trees, some so ancient that they have to be held in shape by steel ropes.

Belleisle tends to mean golf. The championship course is arguably the finest local authority parkland course in Scotland; the Seafield offers an interesting mixture of parklands and links. Advance booking is essential for both. Belleisle House, now a hotel, was built by a brother of Hamilton of Rozelle. It has an interesting French connection, permission having been obtained from the French authorities to reproduce from the Palace of Versailles the Music Room and Marie Antoinette's Boudoir, now the hotel's Fontainebleau Restaurant. In the foyer are much admired wood carvings of scenes from Tam o' Shanter, four years' work by local craftsman James Davidson.

It is 4[1/2] miles from Alloway to the church where the Burns family worshipped, the Auld Kirk of Ayr, up the narrow Kirkgate from the High Street. On the site of the former Grey Friars' Monastery and dating from 1655, the old church is still in use.

Under the arch of the lygate leading to the churchyard are stored two heavy iron mortsafes used to protect fresh graves from the attentions of body-snatchers. The Rev William Dalrymple of the Auld Kirk baptised the infant Burns at Alloway the day after his birth.

A brass plaque in Sandgate, opposite Ayr Post Office, marks the spot where once stood the house of Burns's tutor, John Murdoch. In 1733 Robert came to lodge with Murdoch for three weeks and attended Ayr Grammar School where Murdoch had been appointed English master. Three years later Murdoch had to leave Ayr. His tongue loosened by drink, he had uttered ill-judged words against the Rev Dalrymple. He was to die in London at an advanced age in much reduced circumstances.

John Murdoch had only been 18 years of age when he was chosen by William Burnes to educate his children. The young man was interviewed for the job in Simpson's Inn at the north end of the Auld Brig of Ayr where the stagecoach left for Glasgow. Today it goes by the name of the Black Bull.

In the early years of this century, the Auld Brig -- having comfortably seen off the challenge of its younger rival in 1886 -- held a special place in the affections of Ayr people, but was itself at last showing signs of infirmity. The civil engineers recommended demolition and the building of ''a copy'' of the ancient bridge, as old as the town itself.

Public opinion revolted. An international appeal was launched to raise privately the necessary #10,000 and three years later the hero of The Brigs Of Ayr was as good as new. The pen of Burns had done its work again.

The Ayrshire Tourist Board, Burns House, Burns Statue Square, Ayr, KA7 1UP. Telephone: 01292 288688.

Burns National Heritage Park, Alloway. Telephone: 01292 443700.

Day tripper tickets are available from ScotRail stations in Strathclyde. On arrival in Ayrshire, holders can collect a book of vouchers valid until December 31 offering discounts at 24 attractions including the Burns National Heritage Park.

Mon 03-Jul-1995