Burns Week Events
Join us for a week of events from 12 to 17 January to celebrate the Scottish Bard, Robert Burns.
Packed with accessible tours, workshops, and lively social events, there’s something for everyone. Find out more about our full week of activities below.
Tickets & pricing
We want our BSL Burns Week celebrations to be as accessible as possible. Most events are free or Pay What You Can, so you can choose a ticket price that suits your circumstances. Suggested options are Free, £2.50, £5, £7.50, or £10 per ticket.
Please note that some external tours or partner-led activities may have a set ticket price. Full details can be found on each event listing.
All profits from Pay What You Can events will go towards funding a new accessible lift at our historic Albany Street building, helping us keep our home open and inclusive for everyone.
You can find out more information about our Christmas Lift appeal by clicking the link below.
Monday 12 January
Living heritage presentation & Burns poetry performance
6:30pm – 8:15pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
Blackwood Bar, Deaf Action
This presentation explores the concept of BSL Living Heritage, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of British Sign Language (BSL) as both a cultural and linguistic legacy. It embraces BSL as a vibrant, resilient, and creative force shaped by deaf communities across geographic borders and across generations.
Through examples of tangible and intangible heritage (from historic buildings to storytelling, performance, and social media) the talk illustrates how BSL heritage thrives in both deaf-led and public spaces.
Following the presentation, we’ll be joined by special guest, Amy Murray, who will perform a special BSL rendition of Burns’ famous Tam o’ Shanter. Not to be missed!
Tuesday 13 January
Ceilidh dance workshop
7pm – 9pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
The Church, Deaf Action
Join us for a lively and accessible Ceilidh dance workshop. Perfect for all abilities, this session will introduce you to traditional Scottish dances, including favourites such as the Gay Gordons, Strip the Willow, and the Canadian Barn Dance.
Led in BSL and English, you’ll be guided through each dance step-by-step, making it easy for everyone to take part. No partner or prior experience is needed, just bring your enthusiasm and be prepared to have fun!
Wednesday 14 January
BSL Storytelling with Tania Allan
7:30pm – 8:30pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
Blackwood Bar, Deaf Action
Join deaf storyteller Tania Allan as she shares haunting tales of captivity, silence and survival, weaving together Selkie myths and deaf history.
Photo: Ellie Morag
Thursday 15 January
Ceilidh dance workshop
7pm – 9pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
The Church, Deaf Action
Join us for a lively and accessible Ceilidh dance workshop. Perfect for all abilities, this session will introduce you to traditional Scottish dances, including favourites such as the Gay Gordons, Strip the Willow, and the Canadian Barn Dance.
Led in BSL and English, you’ll be guided through each dance step-by-step, making it easy for everyone to take part. No partner or prior experience is needed, just bring your enthusiasm and be prepared to have fun!
Please note all children must be accompanied by an adult.
BSL Book Club: Sign Between the Lines
7:30pm – 9pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
Blackwood Bar, Deaf Action
Sign between the Lines welcomes the award-winning novelist, poet, screenwriter, Jenni Fagan. Jenni has published four novels with a fifth novel coming in 2026. Come join us as we kick off BSL Burns Week with an acclaimed local Scottish Author for an evening of readings, discussions and insight with your own opportunity to engage in conversation during the Q&A at the end.
Friday 16 January
BSL Tour of Talbot Rice Gallery’s exhibition The Children are Now
1pm – 2pm
BSL only
Free but booking required
Talbot Rice Gallery, The University of Edinburgh Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL
Join Trudi Collier for a deaf-led BSL tour of the exhibition The Children are Now as part of Deaf Action Burns Week. The tour lasts one hour. Please meet us at reception, at the entrance of Talbot Rice Gallery on the second floor. We will be waiting next to a BSL tour sign.
The Children are Now is a group exhibition that aims to represent the relationship of children to the key challenges that we face today. Through artworks that capture the potency of children’s playful imaginations, it makes reference to apartheid education, militaristic games, and generational trauma, asking how history is made to repeat itself in the face of those who are capable of reimagining everything.
Accessibility: The main entrance is on the second floor and is accessible via stairs and our lift.
Tuan Andrew Nguyen, The Arrival of The Boat People, 2020. © Tuan Andrew Nguyen 2020. Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York
BSL Burns Supper at the Ghillie Dhu
6:30pm to late
Ghillie Dhu, 2 Rutland Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2AD
The highly anticipated BSL Burns Supper returns for another spectacular evening of traditional Scottish celebration, with fine dining, whisky and entertainment. Enjoy Burns recitals and toast to the haggis, followed by a three-course meal and a ceilidh.
This event is now sold out. You can join the waiting list by following the link below.
Saturday 17 January
BSL Park Run
9am – 12 noon
BSL only
Free
Meeting point: Arthur’s Seat Park Run (just along from tourist path and opposite Holyrood Park, EH8 7LX
Come and join the Edinburgh BSL parkrun group for your 5k fix. Walk, jog, or run at your own pace and take in some of Edinburgh’s hidden beauty spots. Afterwards, the group will head to a local café for the obligatory coffee and highly anticipated post-run nosh. So, what are you waiting for? Lace up your trainers, and we’ll see you on the start line!
Meet 9am – 9:25am, run or walk 9:30am – 10:am, breakfast 10:30am – 12 noon.
Feel free to join the group for the run only, or stick around and have some breakfast and a blether.
No booking required
National Gallery Tour – Robert Burns BSL tour
2pm – 3pm
BSL only
Free but booking essential
National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JD
Join us for a free Deaf-led tour in British Sign Language at the Portrait – celebrating the life and legacy of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet.
On the eve of the bard’s birthday, explore artistic tributes that capture Burns’ image and spirit. Discover the man behind the poetry and discuss his place in modern Scotland today.
Led by Trudi Collier, you will have the chance to socialise, explore art together and share your ideas.
The tour will be conducted in BSL, without interpretation.
Bagpipe workshop
4pm – 5:30pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
The Church, Deaf Action
Join us as we welcome Alistair Williams from The National Piping Centre, as he takes you through a demonstration of how to play the beginner instrument of the bagpipes – the Practice Chanter.
Alistair Williams started playing at the age of 9, and played with the school throughout his time there. He teaches regularly at The National Piping Centre on the Evening Classes and Community Piping Clubs, as well as taking 1 to 1 students. In 2025 he won the Grade 2 World Pipe Band Championships with Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band and is looking forward to competing in Grade 1 this year with Police Scotland & Federation Pipe Band.
Join Alistair and learn some of the history of the pipes and get an opportunity to handle the instrument and understand how it works, before having a go yourself.
Pub quiz & raffle at the Blackwood Bar
7pm – 9pm
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
Blackwood Bar, Deaf Action
Come along to the Blackwood Bar for an accessible pub quiz designed to test your knowledge. The quiz will be hosted in BSL and interpreted into English with questions also appearing on screen.
Deaf Karaoke
9pm til late
BSL & English
Pay What You Can
Blackwood Bar, Deaf Action
Our famous Deaf Karaoke is back!
Join us for a fun-filled night of signing and singing. Throughout the night, you’ll have the opportunity to get up on stage and belt out some of your favourite songs, through singing or signing.
Don’t worry, if you’re not sure, you can always sit back and watch the entertainment unfold before your eyes! Everyone is welcome.
Book at any time
The Scotch Whisky Experience accessible tours
Book your own time
BSL, IS, & ASL
354 Castlehill, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE
Located at the top of Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile, enjoy a journey into the world of Scotch whisky with one of The Scotch Whisky Experience‘s accessible tours.
Their Silver Tour and Gold Tours take place every 20 minutes throughout the day and are accessible in BSL, IS & ASL and are delivered by an audio-visual handset.
Please note The Silver Tour is suitable for children, however, The Gold Tour is strictly for those aged 18+ years old.
The Gold Tour also includes tasting at the end of the tour with the tour guide, however this element is not interpreted.
The Real Mary King’s Close
Book your own time
BSL & IS
2 Warriston’s Close, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH1 1PG
Discover the hidden streets beneath Edinburgh’s Old Town with one of The Real Mary King’s Close’s accessible tours.
Their BSL and IS tours are delivered through multimedia guides featuring a specially filmed storyteller, guiding you through the history of the close, the people who lived there, and the stories that shaped 17th-century Edinburgh.
The experience follows the full standard tour route and offers the same atmospheric journey underground, making it an ideal way to explore this unique part of the city’s past.
Discount:
Deaf visitors receive 50% off their tickets.
How to book:
Visit The Real Mary King’s Close website, select your preferred date and time, and book as normal. You can then access the BSL/IS tour through the app during your visit.
Download the free language guide app to access the BSL and IS guides.
For more information, email contact@realmarykingsclose.com
The Royal Yacht Brittania
Book your own time
BSL & ASL
Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6JJ
Step aboard one of Scotland’s top visitor attractions with accessible tour options designed for Deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors.
The Royal Yacht Britannia offers tablet-based tours in British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL). A printed English-language tour is also available. Simply request this at the Handset Desk before boarding.
The experience allows you to explore the five decks of Britannia at your own pace, taking in the history, stories, and royal heritage of this iconic ship.