A location in East Ayrshire, Mossgiel lies on the Tarbolton Road, a mile (1.5 km) northwest of Mauchline close to the South Ayrshire border. Comprising the farms of East and West Mossgiel, the former once extended to 47.75 ha (118 acres) and was most notably tenanted between 1784 and 1788 by the poet Robert Burns (1759-96) and his brother Gilbert (1760 - 1826). The rental was £90 a year and Gilbert continued to work the farm until 1800. Some of the poems Burns is known to have written here include the Address to the Unco Guid, The Author's Earnest Cry and Prayer, The Braes o' Ballochmyle, The Cotter's Saturday Night, Holy Willie's Prayer, The Jolly Beggars and The Twa Dogs. The house has been completely rebuilt since the thatched cottage which existed in Burns' time, but a memorial by the roadside commemorates his time here.
The Mossgiel Tunnel lies to the west on the Glasgow South Western railway line.
