Mauchline

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When I arrived in Mauchline I was handed a free plate of haggis, neeps and tatties. I'm tempted to say that I must have looked like I needed it, as I had walked from Tarbolton, a wee place with little in the way of facilities for visitors. But in fact I had stumbled upon some sort of event connected with the birthday of Robert Burns, and there was singing and dancing and the handing out of freebies.
Mauchline is very much a town associated with Burns. He stayed there, ploughed furrows in a nearby farm, drank there, made love there, had many babies who sadly did not survive for long, and got up to things of a Masonic nature.
To be honest, if you're not excited by Robert Burns then there's not much to keep your interest in Mauchline. Apart from the bard, you can catch a glimpse of the town's defunct decorated box-making industry, as founded by brothers Andrew and William Smith some considerable time ago.
But while you could be hard pushed to eke out a whole day here, if you combine it with Tarbolton and the pleasant country walk between the two towns, then you may find the day is not half bad. But don't expect much in Tarbolton. Apart from the Bachelors' Club, about the only good thing about Tarbolton is the road out of it.