Thousands of visitors descended on Speyside yesterday for the most popular Gordon Castle Highland Games to date.
Now in its eighth year, the spectacular event attracted crowds from all across Scotland and beyond.
Following on from “torrential” rainfall at the 2017 games, visitors this year basked in sunshine as they watched traditional highland competitions such as caber tossing and bagpiping.
Last year’s event, which was spread over two days, attracted around 9,500 visitors – but this year’s one-day spectacular drew more than 10,000 people to the castle.
Organisers Angus Gordon Lennox and his wife Zara, the owners of estate, said they were immensely proud to have helped cultivate the event into one of the highlights of Moray calendar.
Mr Gordon Lennox said: “We’ve had the most amazing day, there’s definitely been a lot more people than we’ve ever had before, as is evidenced by the overflow car park we’ve never had to use being completely full for the very first time.
“It’s been a fantastic day out for the whole family – it’s not just highland games, we had something for everyone, from the most difficult teenagers to your granny.
“Last year, we had a two-day event which was torrentially wet on the Saturday, but dry on the Sunday, so our beautiful sunshine today was just fantastic, we were very lucky.
“In fact, the weather was so nice that our ice cream shop sold out.
As well as traditional highland games, visitors were able to enjoy archery, falconry displays, a bicycle trick display and even a special show featuring Indian running ducks called the Drakes of Hazard.
And this year a number of new attractions were added, including a music marquee headlined by the folk music band Elephant Sessions.
Mr Gordon Lennox added: “We certainly brought a lot of people into Moray today, and not just from Scotland – we’ve spoken to visitors from Canada, Austria, Germany, California, and we even had a Swiss competitor in one of the heavy events.
Mrs Gordon Lennox added: “We never imagined that this would grow to such a huge and fantastic event over these eight years, and we really have to thank our very small and dedicated estate team and all of the volunteers for all of their hard work making this a reality.
“So many people we’ve been speaking to have been telling us how they think it’s great for the village and great for Moray, we’re just so pleased everyone has enjoyed themselves.
“It’s a real community celebration, and we’re just so delighted to see that it has grown into such a successful local and national event.”
Local MP among the impressed crowd
Douglas Ross, MP for Moray, was one of the many thousands in attendance at the castle.
He said: “Angus, Zara and the whole team at Gordon Castle put on another fantastic highland games – there was something for everyone.
“It was clear as I walked around the games that there was a significant crowd, and it’s great that the huge effort the organisers put in is recognised by such a healthy attendance.
“The games were a fantastic shop window for many of our local producers in the food tent and around the various stalls, and the event clearly brings a lot of people in the area which is a great boost to the local economy.”
