Traditional date
Traditional games · Scotland
Kirkwall Ba’ Game
Kirkwall, Orkney
Uppies and Doonies scrum through Kirkwall's streets for a cork-filled leather ba'.
25 December 2026
BY NATION
Unusual events in Scotland.
Scotland has several ways of greeting the dark, and sitting quietly is rarely one of them. Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa builds its celebration around a galley; Stonehaven’s swingers whirl fireballs through the Old Town; Burghead burns the Clavie. Comrie has its flambeaux too. Each is its own community tradition, with its own participants and its own way of welcoming visitors. Pick the one you want to get to know, because seeing one fire festival won't tell you what the others are like.
There's plenty of winter drama without a flame. Kirkwall’s Ba’ turns the streets into the playing area for Uppies and Doonies, with a leather ball at the centre of a contest that moves unpredictably. Watching is one thing; taking part is quite another. The individual guide explains the game and its local loyalties, then check the latest local information before choosing where to stand. An afternoon getting to grips with a patient scrum can be as memorable as any midnight spectacle.
Later in the year, the Borders’ Common Ridings bring horses, processions and deep local ties. Hawick and Selkirk each have their own story. Elsewhere, South Queensferry’s Burryman is an extraordinary sight in his covering of burrs, Easdale hosts stone skimming and Carrbridge’s Golden Spurtle turns porridge making into a competition. So you can choose movement, spectacle or one very particular skill, and you needn't think of every Scottish event as the same kind of Highland gathering.
Use this page to find a corner of the country you fancy as well as an event. A journey to Shetland, an island competition and a mainland town each need different arrangements, and the map makes those differences plain. Read the relevant guide for the real transport, entry and spectator details, then check the organiser's latest announcement. Where the next edition is still unconfirmed, the tradition's usual place in the year is useful background, but don't count on every part of an older programme coming back.
25 events
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Biggar Hogmanay Bonfire
Biggar, South Lanarkshire
A piped torchlit procession leads to a huge bonfire on Biggar High Street at Hogmanay.
31 December 2026
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Comrie Flambeaux
Comrie, Perthshire
Flaming birch-pole torches are paraded round Comrie at midnight, then thrown in the River Earn.
31 December 2026 – 1 January 2027
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Stonehaven Fireballs
Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
Fireball swingers parade at midnight to welcome the New Year.
31 December 2026 – 1 January 2027
Traditional date
Festive swim · Scotland
Loony Dook
South Queensferry, Edinburgh
Costumed dookers parade through South Queensferry, then plunge into the Firth of Forth.
1 January 2027
Date announced
Fire tradition · Scotland
Scalloway Fire Festival
Scalloway, Shetland
A torchlit procession brings a Viking galley to Scalloway’s waterfront for burning.
8 January 2027
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Burning of the Clavie
Burghead, Moray
A burning barrel is carried through town as part of a local custom.
11 January 2027
Date announced
Fire tradition · Scotland
Up Helly Aa
Lerwick, Shetland
Torchlit procession culminating in the burning of a galley.
26 January 2027
Traditional date
Traditional games · Scotland
Jedburgh Ba’ Game
Jedburgh, Scottish Borders
Uppies and Doonies battle through Jedburgh's town centre for ribboned leather balls.
11 February 2027
Traditional date
Folk tradition · Scotland
Whuppity Scoorie
Lanark, South Lanarkshire
Lanark children welcome spring with paper balls, a bell and three laps of the kirk.
1 March 2027
Usually April
Folk tradition · Scotland
Links Market
Kirkcaldy, Fife
A funfair close to a mile long fills Kirkcaldy's seafront Esplanade for six days each April.
Six days from a Wednesday in mid-April
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Beltane Fire Festival
Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Drummers, fire and the May Queen's procession welcome summer on Edinburgh's Calton Hill.
30 April 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Hawick Common Riding
Hawick, Scottish Borders
Hundreds of riders follow the Cornet round Hawick's boundaries in a week of Border pageantry.
10–12 June 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Lanimer Day
Lanark, South Lanarkshire
Lanark crowns its Lanimer Queen amid bands, riders and a parade of decorated lorries.
10 June 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Selkirk Common Riding
Selkirk, Scottish Borders
Hundreds ride the marches before flags are cast in the Market Place in memory of Flodden.
18 June 2027
Date announced
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Galashiels Braw Lads’ Gathering
Galashiels, Scottish Borders
Riders carry the burgh flag through ceremonies recalling Galashiels’ history.
3 July 2027
Usually July
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Duns Summer Festival Reivers Rideout
Duns, Scottish Borders
The Reiver and Reiver’s Lass lead a Borders town’s summer riding celebrations.
Usually early July during Duns Summer Festival
Usually July
Unusual race · Scotland
UK Wife Carrying Championships
Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway
A separate partner-carrying contest promoted by the town.
Mid-July, as part of Kirkcudbright Country Fair (first held in 2026)
Traditional date
Traditional games · Scotland
Burntisland Highland Games
Burntisland, Fife
Track events, Highland dancing and heavy competitions share Burntisland’s seaside arena.
19 July 2027
Traditional date
Ceremony & pageantry · Scotland
Langholm Common Riding
Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway
Riders, a crown of thistles and a bannock-and-herring emblem mark the Muckle Toon's boundaries.
30 July 2027
Traditional date
Folk tradition · Scotland
The Burryman
South Queensferry, Edinburgh
A man clad head to toe in sticky burrs walks seven miles round South Queensferry for luck.
13 August 2027
Traditional date
Folk tradition · Scotland
Irvine Marymass
Irvine, North Ayrshire
Horse-drawn parades, a crowning and traditional competitions mark Irvine’s Marymass.
21 August 2027
Date announced
Traditional games · Scotland
Braemar Gathering
Braemar, Aberdeenshire
Cabers, hammers and tug-of-war teams star at the Highland games often attended by royalty.
4 September 2027
Date announced
Unusual competition · Scotland
World Stone Skimming Championships
Easdale Island, Argyll
Stone-skimming competition on a former slate-quarry island.
11 September 2027
Date announced
Unusual competition · Scotland
Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championship
Carrbridge, Highland
Cooks from around the world compete in a Highland village hall to make the perfect porridge.
2 October 2027