Speaker Meeting, 6.15 for 6.30pm

David Peaple and his wife first visited the Royal Highland Gathering in 1996.  They were in a party of 10 staying at the Craigendaroch Hotel in Ballater – in a small castle in its grounds.  The party is smaller in number now but it has gone to the Gathering ever since and has always managed to get the same seats in the main stand close to the Royal Box.  About 10 years ago the castle was taken over by the Royal Protection Squad and so the party now stays at Craeg Megan - a farm on the Balmoral Estate.

The Balmoral Estate includes Balmoral Castle, Balmoral village, Crathie and its church and the Royal Lochnagar distillery. Unlike other Royal estates, Balmoral is totally owned by the Queen and receives no government funding.  A few years ago David met the Duke of Edinburgh walking his dogs on the shores of the Loch.

Braemar is a village in the Cairngorms and is rated as the third coldest place in the U.K.   The Braemar Games are held on the first Saturday of September and are the most famous of all the Scottish Highland Games.  They  have a rich history dating back 900 years. Royal patronage began with Queen Victoria in 1848 and continues today with regular attendance by the Queen and Members of the Royal Family and the English Prime Minister.  With Royal patronage the title Braemar Games was changed to the Braemar Royal Gathering.

The Braemar village recreation ground has the grand title of The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park and sits on a plateau in the centre of the village surrounded by mountains. The village itself has a population of 350. 

Some 17,000 people attend the Gathering which features music, dancing, athletics and Scottish events. It differs from the other games in that it attracts International eventers and also the Army, Navy and RAF athletic teams competing against each other. It gets underway at 9.00am with Solo piping and Pipe Band Competitions, Scottish Dancing, Field and Track Athletics, Tug of War, Hammer and Weight throwing, Caber Tossing and Children’s events - all going on at the same time.

At 11.30am pipe bands assemble at the Invercauld Arms in the village and march to the arena, entering it at noon.  At 1.30pm the mountain run begins - 3 miles up a mountain and 3 miles down. Both men and women take part, their ages range from teenage to 70+.

At 2.00 pm the Queen’s motorcade arrives and massed pipe bands parade around the arena.   When the Royal party are in their seats the activities resume and go on until the presentations at 4.30pm.  Then the Royal party and local dignitaries depart to an escort of pipe bands.

Rotary in Scotland is very much involved in the organisation and running of the Gathering.  Local clubs fundraise inside and outside the ground and they also run an International Marquee to welcome all visiting Rotarians.