Rabbie wi’ a swing

Plans for Burns playground

A Brig O’Doon slide and Tam O’Shanter zip runway are just two of the plans for a Burns inspired playground.

And the aim of the proposed park is to introduce bairns to the bard’s own Scots tongue. The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway is behind the exciting venture.

It would see seven bespoke play pieces installed in the museum’s garden.

A rotating witches cauldron engraved with the words ‘ cutty sark’ and a seasaw imprinted with ‘ Gae up and Gae doon’ are other ideas.

National Trust for Scotland bosses hope the unusual equipment would encourage children to learn Scots through play and add an extra attraction.

The project is one of several in Ayrshire in the running for cash from Tesco.

Learning Manager at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Chris Waddell said: “Learning through play is a great way of introducing the Scots language to our young visitors.

“Our plan is for a play park that takes its inspiration from Burns and Scots and makes the experience of visiting our museum even more rewarding, engaging and fun for families.

“It will provide a vital community amenity and enable us to reach to local folk who haven’t visited the museum yet, enabling us to share this important part of Scotland and Ayrshire’s heritage with even more people.

“We hope that the shoppers of Ayrshire will support our bid for this funding.”

A statement from the NTS said the equipment would “be themed around the life and work of national poet Robert Burns, with a particular slant towards his life in Alloway and his relationship with the natural world and the Scots language.”

Customers at Tesco stores in Ayrshire have the chance to vote for the project before the Bags of Help funding closure date of November 13.