Festivals

124th Dufftown Highland Games

A runner comes into the field. It was quiet when she left, but two hours later the arena is packed. There's one final circuit to do before finishing the hill race. At the bottom end the "heavy events" are well underway, as hammers are flung towards the highland dancers at the top. The back straight is shared with the band competition so the runner needs to dodge pipe and drum before reaching the final corner. Glancing to the left she sees tug-of-war teams digging their heels in, watching for any hint of a movement that will give a strategic advantage. At last the finish line is in sight; it's just a matter of dodging the sack race that's sharing the last straight.

You must visit a Highland Games at some time in your life, and the Dufftown Games were our perfect introduction: by far the most fun we've had all year.