Scotland Month By Month - Discover Scotland: Experience the Best of Scotland - page 85

Festival time in Edinburgh and the city is crammed with visitors. On the west coast, this is
the peak month for sighting minke whales and basking sharks.
Edinburgh Festivals
You name it, Edinburgh has a festival event that covers it - books, art, theatre, music,
comedy, dance, and the Military Tattoo ( www.edintattoo.co.uk ) . The overlapping Interna-
tional Festival and Fringe keep the city jumping from the first week in August to the first
week in September. See www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk .
September
School holidays are over, midges are dying off, wild brambles are ripe for picking in the
hedgerows, and the weather is often dry and mild - an excellent time of year for outdoor
pursuits.
Braemar Gathering
The biggest and most famous Highland Games in the Scottish calendar, traditionally at-
tended by members of the royal family. Expect Highland dancing, bagpipe-playing and
caber-tossing. Held early September in Braemar, Royal Deeside. See
www.braemargathering.org .
December
Darkness falls mid-afternoon as the shortest day approaches. The often cold and wet
weather is relieved by Christmas and New Year festivities.
Hogmanay
Christmas celebrations in Edinburgh ( www.edinburghschristmas.com ) culminate in a huge
street party on Hogmanay (31 December). The fishing town of Stonehaven echoes an an-
cient, pre-Christian tradition with its procession of fireball-swinging locals who parade to
the harbour and fling their blazing orbs into the sea ( www.stonehavenfireballs.co.uk ).