The Hermitage

This house was built in 1791 in Crow Wood, as a little retreat for the guests at nearby Friars Case. One of the people who stayed there was Robert Burns, who farmed at Ellisland, a mile away along the Nith. He carved a poem into the window glass:

Thou who chance may hither lead,
Be thou clad in russet weed,
Be thou deckt in silken stole,
Grave these counsels on your soul.

Life is but a day at most,
Sprung from night - in darkness lost;
Hope not sunshine every hour,
Fear not clouds will always lour.

I walked to Ellisland and along the walk where Burns wrote "Tam o'Shanter".