Burns was sent to Brow Well in order to try and cure his illness, now considered to be rheumatism. The well was thought to have healing qualities within its chalybeate iron rich mineral waters.

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Burns drank the waters of the well and bathed in the cold waters of the Solway Firth while staying at the (no longer there) Brow Inn. You can imagine how cold the waters would have felt to a healthy person and Burns was failing fast.

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While there Burns still wasn't idle. He spent time writing a number of letters to tidy up his affairs and most importantly, make sure that Jean and his family would be cared for in the future.

 

Burns made the journey home, collapsing at the end of his journey. He died at home a few days later. You can still visit the well today with a bench next to it for some quiet reflection but the water is not safe to drink.

 

Brow is a tiny hamlet in Dumfries and Galloway on the Solway Firth. Sadly for Burns it was not to be a healing well  ...