Daily progress was influenced by the weather and the time it took to recover from the night before. He stayed in homes, taverns, and castles. He dropped off copies of his poetry to be delivered to subscribers. He sang, danced, discussed politics and religion, caught a cold, had his horse impounded for grazing in an unauthorized area, and found time to contribute to James Johnson's Musical Museum. He was obsessed with cramming as much experience as he could into these few precious months, not knowing if he would ever again have such an opportunity.
Public records help round out the story.
He deliberately didn't record his actions, indicating that the journey may have been more of a psychological one. He emerges from the four tours stronger and more sure of himself. Their route was somewhat rambling and backtracking. Both Burns and Ainslie were womanizers and paid more attention to the lassies than the historic sights or various Masonic and burgess honors. Burns even paid a surprise uisit to Jean Armour after several month absence.