Braemar Gathering

On the first Saturday in September, amongst the heather clad hills of Braemar, great big men in skirts throw really heavy things around a paddock. I am, of course, referring to the Braemar Gathering. There have been Gatherings of one sort or another at Braemar since the days of King Malcolm Canmore, nine hundred years ago. When it comes to the highland games, this event is second only to the Edinburgh Tattoo. The Patron of the Braemar Gathering is Her Majesty the Queen.

Leaving London on Friday afternoon, Jack, Sharyn and I took the train from King's Cross station for the 4.5 hour trip north to Edinburgh on the GNER. The trip north went quite quickly although we did stop and have to change trains though the reason for this was unclear.
Arriving in Edinburgh, we caught the local bus to our B&B. After a short walk back from the Royal Infirmary (we missed the bus stop), we dropped off our bags and headed back into town to find some dinner. We were only 10 minutes from Princes Street. After wandering through some cheesy souvenir shops and trying on the local colours we found an excellent Italian restaurant called Bella Italia on Hanover Street. Mushrooms to die for.

After a good nights sleep it was up bright and early to catch the bus up into the highlands. From Edinburgh it is another 2.5 hours by bus to reach Braemar. Leaving at 7.30 we got up there just after 10am. I was expected a much bigger event. This was more like a family picnic, not that I minded, it was very quaint and you got a warm welcome from everyone. We ate the local food which was tastier than it looked; at least Jack thought so. The Stovie is beetroot and oat biscuits on a mixture of potato and ground steak. Not sure that this is right. You sure couldn't tell just by looking at it and there seems to be dozens of different recipes for it.

We got seats in the stand near the 'Heavy' events and at first there was a net between us and the Royal Box (hut) but they took this down before SHE arrived. Turned out to be fantastic seats, but as we were all just sitting on a hill around a small field, I guess every seat was good. Definitely better than standing, though I wouldn't shell out the extra for seats in the stand. Being on the little wooden benches was the real deal.

While it was overcast most of the day, there was only a small sprinkle of rain and not enough to wet us. Temperature wise, it was chilly, but certainly not cold; at least not for me.

With more pipers than you can throw a stick at, runners, dancers, tug of war and the heavies, there was always something going on. The highlights for me included tossing the caber, the band leader competition and of course, The Queen.

She arrived in her Bentley just after lunch with the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Camilla. There was no extra security and it felt really special to be there. As you can see, we were just across from her and she passed not more than a few feet in front of us on the way out. Very cool.

After she left, everything started to shut down so we grabbed some sandwiches (one stovie a day is enough) and jumped on the bus back to Edinburgh.
Sunday was not nearly as exciting, but still an interesting day. We went up to Edinburgh Castle and even though it was raining, it was a nice visit. Then walked down the Royal Mile and met up with Justine and Renee who were also up from London for the last events of the Edinburgh Festival. After lunch Jack and I went to the Dynamic Earth where we fooled around. It was a good display of the life of the planet and different ecosystems. Sharyn went shopping and we all met up at the station at 5 for the trip home.

Summary
For me, the Braemar Gathering was definitely worth the trip and Edinburgh is a nice place to visit. We felt welcome and safe while there and the pricing was not too Scottish. 4 Ook Eyees out of 5.