For many foreign people the classic image of summer sport in the UK is that of English gentlemen dressed in white flannels playing cricket all day in the village park.
However, if you travel north of the border, to Scotland, you may find a very different kind of sporting entertainment – enormous men wearing kilts trying to throw tree trunks high into the air, or beautiful girls dancing gracefully on top of swords, all accompanied by the haunting music of the bagpipes.
This is the Highland games, a celebration of Scottish and Celtic culture which takes place every summer in the north of Scotland. Although many Highland games take place around Scotland each summer, they all share certain common characteristics.
At the heart of any Highland games are the heavy events. These traditional sports are designed to let competitors show off their physical prowess and require great strength.
The most emblematic of the heavy events is known as ‘tossing the caber’ – in this event a strong man throws a tree trunk (or caber), which is around 5.5 meters in length and weighs 55kg, into the air. In order to win the caber must turn over in the air and land at a good angle to the thrower.
If burly men throwing giant pieces of wood around are not your cup of tea, then perhaps the musical aspect of the Highland games would be more to your taste.
Music and dance form an enormous part of Scottish and Celtic culture, and traditional Scottish music is immediately identifiable because of its use of traditional instruments such as the bagpipes, drums and fiddle.
Highland dancing is a competitive event in which kilted dancers try to outdo each other in terms of grace and technical achievement.
And if that isn’t enough, you can enjoy the sight of mock battles as historical societies recreate famous battles from Scotland’s history. If you enjoyed ‘Braveheart’ at the cinema, you’ll love the Highland games in real life.
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