Highland Games
“There’s no place on earth with more of the old superstitions and magic mixed into its daily life than the Scottish Highlands.”
Arisaig Highland Games
On Wednesday (Jul 26), we drove a little over an hour to reach the Armadale Ferry Terminal at the southern end of Skye.
Waiting to be directed onto the ferry.
Phew! Good thing we paid attention to the sign! Otherwise, we might have driven right into the ocean! 😅
We couldn’t have asked for a more picture-perfect day!
After a brief 30 minute journey, the ferry delivered us to Mallaig (the same city where the Jacobite Express train ended when we rode over the Glenfinnan Viaduct).
From Mallaig, it was a short 15 minute drive to Traigh Farm where the 2023 Arisaig Highland Games were held.
Traigh Farm overlooks Traigh Bay (Tràigh is a Scottish Gaelic word meaning sandy beach or shore).
Overlooking the field with Traigh Bay beyond. The piper in the foreground is performing for a judge (just out of camera view) who is rating his performance.
Dinna fash yourself, we opened the games with a wee dram of 6-year-old Ardnamurchan single malt whisky bottled exclusively for the games.
Scottish Games or Caledonian Games started at the Falkirk Tryst in October 1781. (Falkirk is a city between Stirling and Edinburgh, where we saw The Kelpies.) The games generally include competitions in dance, piping, and athletics.
Traditional dances include the Highland Fling, Sword Dance, Seann Truibhas, Reel, Sailor's Hornpipe, and Irish Jig.
National dances like Flora MacDonald’s Fancy, Scottish Lilt, Highland Laddie, and Barracks Johnnie started to appear on dancing programs in the 1970s.
Over the past couple of decades at least three dozen Hebridean Dances and other lesser known dances have been unearthed and are being taught and performed.
As Scots emigrated to far-flung lands they took their sport and culture with them.
Tradition tells us that Games were held near Ellerbe, North Carolina in the late 1700s. The Civil War delayed the spread of these events, but by 1875 Highland Games were being held in at least 125 communities across America.
Our flag was among those flown at the Arisaig Highland Games, representing nations where large numbers of Scots have emigrated.
Turning the Caber—In possibly the most well-known sport, the tosser balances the caber upright, tapered end downwards, against his or her shoulder and neck, the caber being supported by stewards or fellow-competitors while being placed into position. The tosser then crouches, sliding their interlocked hands down the caber and under the rounded base, and lifts it in their cupped hands.
The tosser must balance the caber upright; this is not easy with the heavier end at the top, and less-experienced tossers may be unable to stop the caber falling to one side after lifting it. The tosser then walks or runs a few paces forward to gain momentum, and flips the tapered end upwards so that the large end hits the ground first, and, if well tossed, the caber falls directly away from the tosser.
The primary objective is to toss the caber so that it turns end over end, falling away from the tosser. Ideally it should fall directly away from the tosser in the "12 o'clock" position. The distance thrown is unimportant.
Enjoy a short video of various parts of the games (including turning the caber at the end): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqcEoxeAVMk
Glenfinnan
We had just enough time before our return ferry ride to hightail it down to Glenfinnan so Dave and Christa could briefly see where Bonnie Prince Charlie came ashore in 1745, the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and Dumbledore’s grave.
The Glenfinnan Monument
On the northern shore in Loch Shiel, where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in 1745.
Dave and the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Dave and Christa at Dubledore’s grave.
We made it to Malliag just in time for our ferry ride back to Skye.
Not only were we extraordinarily fortunate to have Highland Games land on a date and place that we were able to visit, but we were likewise blessed with unusually good weather. It all made for an experience we’ll remember fondly for the rest of our lives.
