Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
held in one of the main Highland towns. Also various food festivals
and events under the banner of Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight
(
W
scottishfoodanddrinkfortnight.co.uk).
Late Sept
Doors Open Day
W
doorsopendays.org.uk. The one
weekend a year when many public and private buildings are open to the
public; actual dates vary. Also Dufftown's Autumn Speyside Whisky
Festival (
W
spiritofspeyside.com), and the Scottish Book Town
Festival in Wigtown (
W
wigtown-booktown.co.uk).
(accompanied by its distinctive and vocal
supporters, known as the “Tartan Army”) is a
source of pride and frustation for Scots every-
where. Once a regular at World Cups where they
were involved in some memorable matches
against the likes of Holland and Brazil, Scotland
have failed to qualify for an international tourna-
ment since 1998.
The national domestic league established in 1874
is one of the oldest in the world, but today most of
the teams that play in it are little known beyond the
boundaries of Scotland. The exceptions are the two
massive Glasgow teams that have long dominated
the Scottish scene,
Rangers
and
Celtic
(see box,
p.201) - known collectively as the “Old Firm”. The
sectarian, and occasionally violent, rivalry between
these two is one of the least attractive aspects of
Scottish life, and until the end of the 2011-2012
season when financial problems led to Rangers
being demoted to Division Three, their stranglehold
over the
Scottish Premier League
(now rebranded
as the Scottish Premiership;
W
scotprem.com),
made the championship fairly predictable.
As in England, foreign players have flooded the
top league, to the extent that
home-grown
players
can be in the minority in the main teams.
However, talented local players still have a stage on
which to perform, and the new blend of conti-
nental sophistication mixed with Scottish passion
and ruggedness makes for a distinctive spectacle.
The
season
begins in early August and ends in
mid-May, with matches on Saturday afternoons at
3pm, and also often on Sunday afternoons and
Wednesday evenings. Standard tickets cost around
£25 for big games and can be purchased from club
websites. For a quick overview see
W
scotprem
.com, which features details of every Scottish club,
with news and match report archives.
OCT
NOV
Oct
Tiree Wave Classic
W
tireewaveclassic.com. Annual event
attracting windsurfers from around the world to the breezy
Hebridean island.
Mid-Oct
The National Mod
W
www.the-mod.co.uk. Held over nine
days at a different venue each year, the Mod is a competitive festival and
features all aspects of Gaelic performing arts.
Nov 30
St Andrew's Day. Celebrating Scotland's patron saint. The
town of St Andrews hosts a week of events leading up to it
(
W
standrewsweek.co.uk).
Highland Games
Despite their name,
Highland Games
are held all
over Scotland between May and mid-September,
varying in size and in the range of events they offer.
The Games probably originated in the fourteenth
century as a means of recruiting the best fighting
men for the clan chiefs, and were popularized by
Queen Victoria
to encourage the traditional dress,
music, games and dance of the Highlands; indeed,
various royals still attend the Games at Braemar.
Apart from
Braemar
, the most famous games
take place at
Oban
and
Cowal
, but the smaller
events are often more fun - like a sort of Highland
version of a school sports day. There's money to be
won, too, so the Games are usually pretty competi-
tive. The most distinctive events are known as the
“heavies” - tossing the caber (pronounced “kabber”),
putting the stone, and tossing the weight over the
bar - all of which require prodigious strength and
skill, and the wearing of a kilt. Tossing the caber is
the most spectacular, when the athlete must lift an
entire tree trunk up, cupping it in his hands, before
running with it and attempting to heave it end over
end. Just as important as the sporting events are the
piping
competitions - for individuals and bands -
and
dancing
competitions, where you'll see girls as
young as 3 tripping the quick, intricate steps of
dances such as the Highland Fling.
Rugby
Although
rugby
has always lived under the shadow
of football in Scotland, it ranks as one of the
country's major sports. Weekends when the national
team is playing a home international at Murrayfield
stadium in Edinburgh are colourful occasions, with
kilted masses filling the capital's pubs and lining the
streets leading to the ground. Internationals take
place in the spring, when Scotland takes on the
other “home nations”, along with France and Italy, in
the annual
Six Nations
tournament (see opposite),
although there are always fixtures in the autumn
against international touring teams such as New
Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Tickets for big
Football
Football
(soccer) is far and away Scotland's most
popular spectator sport. The national team
