SOUTER JOHNNIE'S INN, MAIN ROAD, KIRKOSWALD
This complex encompasses a number of old properties, like the original Souter Johnnie's Inn and a previously existing hotel. The old inn was built on the site of the schoolhouse where Robert Burns had the three Rs rigorously drilled into him in 1775. The restoration and refurbishment has been on a grand scale, and the end result is something that instantly transforms Kirkoswald from a mediocre wee place to somewhere very very special. All the walls of each building are whitewashed and each is capped with a new thatched roof that looks magnificent. Who'd have thought something as functional as a roof could look so stunning? Work is ongoing to add to the complex. There are, for example, plans afoot to transform the old Kirkton Jean's pub next door into a whisky museum. You know, an area of Scotland that boasts such wonderful countryside needs somewhere like this. It's been a long time coming, but now it's here. It is a place I will relish returning to for an ale, and so much more.