Highland Games Return After Three Year Absence

Highland Games will return across Perthshire after being cancelled for the last three years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 13 games will be held across Perthshire with six being held in Highland Perthshire: Blair Athol, Kenmore, Aberfeldy, Rannoch, Birnam and Pitlochry.

Speaking about the impact that Covid-19 has had on Highland Games, Chairman of the Perthshire Highland Games Association Ian Stewart said: “really when you think about it now its unbelievable to think that it’s been almost three years since we had a Highland Game in Perthshire at all.

“It’s been a real shame for some games that have missed some big dates on their calendar purely because of the fact of covid. It’s been a difficult one, it’s been really hard for athletes, competitors pipers et cetera who have really had nothing to do over the last two or three years.”

The Perthshire Calendar begins on the 28^th of May with the Blackford Games, who will be celebrating their 150^th year, with Highland Perthshire beginning the same weekend on the 29^th of May with the Atholl Gathering.

For Highland Perthshire Kenmore follows on the 6^th of July, before three more games in August, Aberfeldy on the 13^th, Rannoch on the 20^th and Birnam on the 29^th before Pitlochry who are celebrating their 170th games, closing out the Perthshire Calendar on the 10^th of September.

No two Highland Games are alike, and Mr Stewart tells us what to expect when attending the games: “I’ve got to be honest I hear it an awful lot of times from people perhaps as well who have been to highland games and perhaps not been for a number of years and tend to say when you’ve seen one games you’ve seen them all.

“that’s not quite true, I always say you’ve never been to a Perthshire Highland games because we have so much happening, but, an awful lot of people who come for the first time are quite amazed at the amount of events that are taking place.

“It’s a bit of a strange scene in a sense that there looking at the main arena of a Highland Games there is actually, so many events going on at the same time. It’s difficult to sometimes to actual watch one event at one time without your eye being taken somewhere else to something else, because we have track and field events, we have obviously the heavy events going on with hammer throwing and the iconic caber toss, and then somewhere else you might be drawn to the highland dancing and of course pipe bands which are a huge event and a huge draw for many of our tourists.”

Full calendar of games across Perthshire:

Saturday 28^th May	Blackford	10:30am
Sunday 29^th May	Blair Atholl	11am
Wednesday 6^th July	Kenmore	5:30pm
Saturday 23^rd July	Lockearnhead	12:30pm
Wednesday 3^rd August	Killin	10am
Saturday 13^th August	Aberfeldy	12pm
Sunday 14^th August	Perth	10:30am
Saturday 20^th August	Rannoch	1:30pm
Sunday 21^st August	Crieff	10:30am
Saturday 27^th August	Strathardle	10:30am
Saturday 27^th August	Birnam	11am
Sunday 4^th September	Blairgowrie	10am
Saturday 10^th September	Pitlochry	10:30am