Live like a Laird for Hogmanay

If you must only ever spend one night in Scotland, make sure that it's Hogmanay. And make sure you're in a castle. Andrew Ross reports

There's no finer time in the Scottish social calendar than 31st December, or Hogmanay as it is known locally.

From the gargantuan Edinburgh street party, with hundreds of thousands of revellers from across the globe celebrating the New Year to the sounds of internationally renowned bands, to the more modest – but no less raucous – celebrations that occur in each and every small town and village across the country, Scotland celebrates the coming of the New Year like no other country around the globe.

Rio has its carnival, New Orleans has Mardi Gras, New York has its (or rather Ireland's) St Patrick's Day parade down Fifth Avenue and Scotland…? And Scotland has Hogmanay.

To be in Scotland at this time of year is a treat for the senses. It's the best opportunity to see the Scots at their best, to hear the best traditional music, sample the finest whisky and to revel in the celebratory atmosphere which can linger on until 3rd January.

There's a reason Scotland gets an extra day of public holiday in the aftermath of New Year's Eve.

And there is no better time to be planning a winter trip to Scotland. Whilst in years gone by rural castle hotel owners have deemed the winter, with its short days and long, cold nights, as the ‘off season', recently they've begun to see it as a time to offer exclusive hire of their castles for Christmas and Hogmanay parties.

There's something to suit all budgets too, from a unique youth hostel sleeping 189, to one of the world's most excl...

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• By : Andrew Ross
• In : Holidays
• Issue : 22
• Page : 56
• Words : 1,391