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

Looking for somewhere memorable to celebrate the life and works of Robert Burns? Suzy Pope picks some of the top events around the country, whether you want to dance, eat or indulge in fine whiskies

Thursday 16 January 2025 12:37 GMT
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A piper outside the royal yacht Britannia in Edinburgh
A piper outside the royal yacht Britannia in Edinburgh (First Light Photography)

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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.

Read more: The best hotels in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

An after-hours ceilidh at the National Museum of Scotland

Burns Night sees the museum filled with dancing guests
Burns Night sees the museum filled with dancing guests (National Museums Scotland)

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.

24 January, 7.30pm; £20

Read more: How to spend a day in Portobello, Edinburgh’s swinging seaside suburb

Dinner fit for a queen at royal yacht Britannia

Experience a former royal vessel on this special evening
Experience a former royal vessel on this special evening (Royal yacht Britanniay)

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 January; £245

A cosy nightcap at The Glasshouse Hotel

Sample delicious whiskies at this Edinburgh hotel
Sample delicious whiskies at this Edinburgh hotel (The Glasshouse Hotel)

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 from 20-26 January (£55 per person, with paired whiskies).

The Whisky Experience Package overnight stay is available throughout January; from £235 for two

Read more: The best Scotland islands for rugged coastlines and picturesque villages

Glasgow

All the trimmings at Ubiquitous Chip

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 a special rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” will see off the night. If you’re in Glasgow for Burns Night itself, don’t miss taking part in a flash-mob-style Strip the Willow twisting and reeling its way down Sauchiehall Street on 25 January.

Ubiquitous Chip’s event is 30 January; £80

Sauchiehall Street Strip the Willow takes place on 25 January, 2pm; free

Stirling

A history of Burns at Stirling Castle

Robert Burns himself may make an appearance at Stirling Castle
Robert Burns himself may make an appearance at Stirling Castle (Historic Environment Scotland)

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 12pm; £19.50 (event included with castle entry)

Read more: How to spend your summer in Scotland

Newcastle

A wee dram with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at the Caledonian Hotel

Rumour has it that whisky is consumed on Burns Night...
Rumour has it that whisky is consumed on Burns Night... (Mike Wilkinson)

“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 in homage to Burns’s time as a tax collector for the whisky trade, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society will host an intimate event at Newcastle’s Caledonian Hotel this year. A tasting experience will be led by expert Lee Connor where a curated selection of single-cask whiskies are only identifiable by their tasting notes, cask number and region to avoid any preconceptions clouding your enjoyment. Of course, a dinner of haggis, neeps and tatties will also be served.

25 January, 6.45pm; £75

Yorkshire

A stately escape at Grantley Hall

Scotland comes to Yorkshire for the evening
Scotland comes to Yorkshire for the evening (Grantley Hall)

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.

23 January, 7pm; £145

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London

An indulgent meal at Ham Yard Hotel

A traditional Burns Night supper done well at the Ham Yard Hotel
A traditional Burns Night supper done well at the Ham Yard Hotel (Firmdale)

The Ham Yard Hotel in Soho has been perfecting its Burns Night celebrations for years. This year’s five-course menu features venison wellington as the star of the show, but don’t worry, there’s a haggis to address too, and the sharp yet creamy Strathdon Blue from Tain to finish up with the cheese plate. Each dish will be accompanied by a whisky pairing from The Macallan. Speyside single malts ranging from 12 to 18 years have been specially selected to complement the flavours of each course.

24 January, 6.30pm; £120

A proper knees up at London Ceilidh Club at Porchester Hall

Dance the night away at this ceilidh
Dance the night away at this ceilidh (Ceilidh Club Ltd)

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 24, 7pm; £59

Bottomless whisky with The Rhythm and Booze Project at Crol and Co

2025 marks the fifth year of boozy Burns Night celebrations courtesy of The Rhythm and Booze Project. This year, Felipe and Paul are hosted by cosy cocktail establishment Crol and Co in Bermondsey. A combination gig and whisky tasting will see a bottomless bar packed with single malts to sample throughout the night, a guided tasting from whisky writer and Keeper of the Quaich Felipe Schrieberg and live blues music in lieu of the thump of a ceilidh band.

22, 23 and 24 January, 7pm; £65

Read more: The best London hotels for afternoon tea

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