For Auld Lang Syne

To celebrate Burns Night, we revealed the street names that have been inspired by Robert Burns across the UK.

Burns and his poems have inspired a raft of street names with the research revealing that the Bard’s name features in over 470 road names across the UK.

Glasgow and the birthplace of Robert Burns – Ayr – contain the most Burns-related addresses in the UK, followed by London and Scotland’s Greenock.

The top 10 ‘Robert Burns hotspots of the UK’ are as follows:

1. Glasgow
2. Ayr
3. London
4. Greenock
5. Mauchline
6. Clydebank
7. Edinburgh
8. Stirling
9. Kilmarnock
10. Manchester

In total, Robert Burns inspires more than 720 street names across the UK. The various homes featuring throughout Burns’ poetry serve as inspiration for a number of British street names, in addition to the main women in his life, including ‘Jean Armour Avenue’ in Edinburgh, and a ‘Clarinda Crescent’ in Mauchline. Several other Burns Night-related addresses – including haggis, whisky and even Auld Lang Syne – also exist around the UK.

Some other facts revealed in our research include:

• Several addresses are influenced by some of the poet’s most iconic verses, including ‘Auld Lang Signs’ graphic designers in Irvine, Red Rose Lane in Pentre, Wales and Tam O’Shanter Drive in Stirling.
• ‘Burns Road’ addresses exist all over London, including three in Willesden, five in Clapham and one in Perivale. There is also a ‘Robert Burns Mews’ in Herne Hill.
• There are a number of street names around the country influenced by the food and drink delights of Burns Night; including Haggis Gap in Cambridge, Neepsend Lane in Sheffield and Whisky Brae in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.

Steve Rooney, head of our Address Management Unit, said: ‘Royal Mail delivers mail to over 30 million addresses, six days a week. This puts us in a unique position of having access to all the brilliant street names across the UK.

‘Robert Burns and his poems have clearly inspired a raft of street names across Scotland and the rest of the UK, demonstrating the important role he plays in the UK’s history.’