The organizers of the Boswell Book Festival 2015 have announced that the festival will not take place at Boswell's own Auchinleck House this year, but rather at the nearby Dumfries House, once the seat of the Earls of Dumfries.
Although it might seem strange to move a festival named for Boswell away from the house that was once his, it does make sense at some levels. Auchinleck House does lie a few miles from the major roads and the town of Auchinleck itself, and is not particularly accessible. It also does suffer from a lack of facilities to accommodate the number of visitors that the festival has seen in recent years.
Dumfries House, on the other hand, was acquired by a trust headed by the Prince of Wales in 2007 for the massive amount of 45 million pounds, and has since then been restored for a further 15 million pounds. It is also larger than Auchinleck House, and some scholars believe that Alexander Boswell, the father of James Boswell, had Auchinleck House built specifically as a (smaller) copy of Dumfries House.
Dumfries House is near the main road between Ayr and Cumnock, about 2½ miles - and in walking distance - from the latter. If you go to visit this years Boswell Book Festival, the webmaster of this site can recommend that you stay overnight at the Dumfries Arms in Cumnock, a beautifully restored old building near the town centre, featuring nice rooms, good service and really great food.
The Boswell Book Festival 2015 will take place on May 8-10, and further information will be published on boswellbookfestival.co.uk.