Braemar - Royal Highland Gathering

Many visitors are drawn to Braemar on the first Saturday in September for the Royal Highland Gathering. Members of the royal family often attend the grand occasion and have been known to take part. Many of the 20,000 or more spectators turn out in traditional Scottish costume - the women wear tartan dresses and the men a kilt and plaid. "Tossing the caber", a sport unique to Scotland, is one of the spectacular events at the gathering. While the bagpipes play, the trunks of young fir trees are tossed from a vertical position.