Highland Games - More Than A Game!!

Well, May is nearly upon us, and at Big Tree Campervans we get really excited about the start of the Highland Games season - Highland Games take place in dozens of local communities across the whole of Scotland from May to September.

For those of you not familiar with them, they involve a unique combination of culture, sport and social criac. At all the Games you’ll see a really wide range of events, from the heavy events (hammer throwing, tossing the caber, throwing the hammer, the shot) through to the light events (running, cycling, tug o war, highland dancing, solo piping). All these events ensure a wonderful sound and atmosphere against a backdrop of some marvellous scenery! Often there is a small admission fee, and there’s nearly always have some excellent food, drink, and other entertainment which makes for a fantastic day.

 

On your first visit to a Games, they can seem a bit chaotic, with lots of events taking place at the same time in different parts of the games field – you can often have athletic races speeding past a Highland dancing competition, with the drone of a pipes from the pipes competition in the background, not to mention the ‘heavy’ events like caber tossing and tug-of-war all happening right in the middle!

We really would recommend fitting a day at the Games into your Big Tree Campervan adventure, and as well as spectating, there are often vents which you can enter yourselves as a visitor – usually the athletic events which includes different length races, and always the fun children’s races!


To help you plan your visit to the Games, there’s a list of the dates on the Scottish Highland Games Association website, plus a useful map showing the locations of the various Games.

So, check out the dates, make some sort of a plan, and enjoy the Highland Games on your Big Tree Campervan adventure!