Robert Burns features in more than 470 street names around UK, research shows

Scotland’s national bard features in more than 470 road names across the UK, new research has found.

Glasgow has the highest concentration of streets named after Robert Burns with 72 featuring his name, according to Royal Mail analysis released on the eve of Burns Night.

The town of Ayr, near his birthplace of Alloway, has the second highest number with 25, followed by London on 19.

The Ayrshire village of Mauchline, where he lived for a time, and Greenock in Inverclyde are joint fourth with 16.

Royal Mail said the poet has inspired 720 street names in total around the UK, with some addresses influenced by his work, people he knew and the food and drink associated with Burns Night.

They include Red Rose Lane in Pentre, Wales, Tam O’Shanter Drive in Stirling, Haggis Gap near Cambridge and Neepsend Lane in Sheffield.

Steve Rooney, head of Royal Mail’s 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.”

People around the globe are preparing to celebrate Burns Night on January 25 to celebrate the anniversary of the poet’s birth on that date in 1759.

The research also found streets inspired by women in the poet’s life including Jean Armour Avenue in Edinburgh, Jean Armour Drive in nearby Dalkeith, Midlothian – which is next to Robert Burns Mews – and a Clarinda Crescent in Mauchline.

Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit analysed more than 30 million addresses to establish the extent of the poet’s impact on street names around the country.