The Highland Games

From May to September, small Scottish towns clear a field, rope off a ring and hold a games day. The heavy events are what most visitors come for: the caber, a tapered larch trunk that has to be turned end over end and land straight, plus the stone put, the hammer and the weight thrown one-handed over a raised bar. Around them run Highland dancing on a board, solo piping judged inside a tent, pipe bands circling the arena, hill races that vanish up the slope behind and tug of war. The Cowal Gathering at Dunoon is the largest, the Braemar Gathering in early September the most formal, and dozens of village games are neither.

What you actually see

• The caber - a larch trunk turned end over end and judged on straightness, not distance.
• Solo piping - competitions judged inside a tent while the bands play outside.
• Highland dancing - the fling and the sword dance on a raised board.
• The hill race - competitors sent straight up the slope behind the field and back.

When to go

The season runs roughly May to September and each games has one fixed date, so plan around the calendar rather than turning up. Braemar falls in early September and sells out well ahead. Village games are cheap, uncrowded and often better fun. Weather decides everything, and the ring turns to mud after rain.

Honest expectations

Most games happen on an ordinary sports field with a portable stage and burger vans, and visitors expecting spectacle find the pace slow, with several events running at once and little explanation. Facilities are basic, seating is a bank of grass or a chair you brought, and midges appear in still weather. The big gatherings charge a great deal more.

Nearby

Whatever the host town offers, since the games are usually the only event on that day.