The Caber Went Up at Braemar on Saturday and the Royals Have Been Turning Up Since 1848
Scotlands best known Highland games ran on 5 September, with heavy events, pipe bands and dancing in parallel arenas.
The Braemar Gathering was held on Saturday 5 September at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar, Aberdeenshire. Gates opened around nine, with the main events from about ten.
The heavy events are the ones people come for: tossing the caber, the hammer, the stone of strength, weight over the bar and the tug of war. There is also a hill race, and pipe bands and Highland dancers compete in separate arenas at the same time, which is why the day reads as chaotic to anyone watching for the first time.
The Royal Family has attended almost every year since Queen Victoria first went in 1848. Balmoral is a few miles away. Attendance is never confirmed in advance, which is part of the draw.
Braemar is the best known of a Highland games circuit that runs across Scotland through the summer, and it is usually the last significant one of the season.
None of the heavy events has a standardised implement weight across every games, which is why Highland games records are held per event and per venue rather than as world marks.