Highland Games

Rowing and tennis are two sports you are unlikely to see at the Highland Games.

These Scottish games have been popular since the days of Queen Victoria in the 19th century. Her patronage of the famous gathering at Braemar in Aberdeenshire has ensured they remain an important event on the Scottish calendar to this day.

The Highland Games are thought to have originated as fairs organised in early times by kings and chiefs and may also have had a military purpose. Today, they usually feature displays of highland dancing, contests in playing the bagpipes and gruelling athletic events such as 'throwing the hammer' and 'tossing the caber'. This involves tossing a straight heavy pine trunk as far as possible and calls for extraordinary strength. Its origin could well be in the raising of the roof rafters in a traditional highland croft or house.

In this section...