We’re upstairs in a compact old town house, a block from the river where gulls and herons idle away a sunny April afternoon.

Upstairs, behind walls of oxblood-red sandstone, bathed in shafts of sunlight, we admire the artefacts recalling the life of Dumfries’s most famous resident. We can even handle them and connect with an eighteenth-century exciseman and his wife and, best of all for a fellow writer, with an esteemed wordsmith and one of Scotland’s most famous sons.

To think that, before arriving in Dumfries just hours earlier, I hadn’t known that Robert Burns lived and wrote about haggis, old acquaintances and the tim’rous beastie in the town we’re visiting to meet Australian friends.

Our journey north was by train, but we could just as easily have detoured off the A74 (M) to reach Dumfries by car. Our two nights’ accommodation is at the very nice Hill House Hotel, a comfortable, family-run home-from-home near the railway station. It even has, we’ve learned, a (pre-Bond) Daniel Craig connection! Our friends, I’ll add, enjoyed the Holiday Inn across town.

Where Scotland’s national bard rests

You’ll sense Burns’ presence everywhere in Dumfries. There’s his former home – now a free-to-visit museum – and in St Michael’s churchyard, be sure to visit the impressive mausoleum where Scotland’s national bard rests. Elsewhere, statues of the poet and his wife, and places associated with him, are among the town’s other attractions. Dumfries, we discovered, really is nearly all about Robert Burns!

Unsurprisingly, the River Nith, which flows through town, was an inspirational walking route for the poet. So we strolled its banks too. Later, we picnicked near the impressive Victorian suspension bridge overlooking the riffles where those herons stalk their suppers.

North to Dumfries House

Whether Burns-related or not, Dumfries offers plenty to fill a couple of days. Then, for a change of scene, how about visiting magnificent Dumfries House with its stunning Adams-designed Palladian architecture, sublime gardens and breathtakingly valuable Chippendale furniture collection? You’ll need a car to get there – despite the name, it’s 46 miles north of Dumfries, but it’s worth the effort!

Too soon, the precious time with our friends ended, but not before we shared an excellent meal at family-run Bruno’s Italian Restaurant near our hotel. There wasn’t a neep or a tattie in sight, but I’m sure that if Rabbie Burns had shared our exquisite pasta, pizza and sole supper, he’d have approved – and probably written a celebratory verse about it in characteristic style as well!