When Rabbie visited Falkirk ...

Things didn't always go to plan for poet Robert Burns, who in a visit to Falkirk in 1787 tried to visit the famous Carron Works - only to find it shut (because it was a Sunday).

A plaque commemorating the visit mysteriously disappeared last year, only to resurface after an article appeared in the Falkirk Herald.

There’s a lot more to Burns’ visit to the area than his knock-back at the ironworks, but meanwhile Falkirk Delivers has been reminding local people of a new Robert Burns plaque on the High Street, above Revolution Music.

Burns revisited the Carron works on a weekday, and reputedly later said: “The blazing furnaces and melting iron realised the description of the giants forging thunderbolts”.

On Friday and Saturday coming the five year Townscape Heritage Initiative in Falkirk comes to an end, and there will be a variety of family-friendly events in the town centre on both days to celebrate its achievements.

Some - like the High Street plaque - quietly make the point that Falkirk is an important town steeped in history, while others have been designed simply to make the place more attractive.