Edinburgh’s Hogmanay: the torchlight procession

After a very expat Christmas in the US, we came back to Edinburgh to experience the glory that is Hogmanay for the first time.

The Scots seem convinced that they invented New Year – after all, what song does the rest of the world sing at the stroke of midnight? – and we were very excited to finally get a taste of this part of the calendar in our adopted homeland.

First up was the Torchlight Procession, which happens every December 30th. A Scottish band and some cowskin-clad vikings from the Shetland Islands lead the parade, which starts on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town. (The vikings are warming up for Up Helly Aa, a festival in the Shetlands at the end of January which is on our Scotland travel wishlist.)

From there it winds down the Mound and across to New Town.

The procession continues on Princes Street, past the Christmas markets and rides.

Anyone can participate in the torchlight procession, but a bit of advanced planning is ideal if you’d definitely like to carry a torch. For around £11 you can pre-book a torch online. Of course pre-booking for any outdoor activity in Scotland has its risks, but this year we were incredibly lucky to have a beautifully clear, mild evening.

There are also a number of torches sold on the day of, but this year they were sold out hours before the procession began.

Scott and I shared one torch between us, which turned out to be a good idea. It was nice to be able to hand it off whenever your arm got tired or you wanted to focus on photo-taking.

From Princes Street, the procession heads up Calton Hill for the grand finale. This year only torch-holders and their companions were being allowed up the hill, as apparently in past years it got much too crowded.

The atmosphere atop Calton Hill was enchanting. Our photos don’t begin to do it justice. (Here’s a quick video which doesn’t quite do it justice, either.)

As we arrived on the hill, a giant bonfire glowed in the distance, and people stood with torches all across the undulating landscape.

We had started the procession with a small group of people, but had been forewarned that it would be futile for us to try to stick together for the entire route, and that proved true (but we had a meeting point planned for afterwards). Had we been farther back in the procession, I think it would have been easier, but the front was rather crowded at points.

Before we knew it, it was time for the main event: a fireworks display set to music.

Some of the fireworks burst forth from the monuments of Calton Hill, but the largest ones were high above the bonfire.

After a couple years in Edinburgh, fireworks have started to feel like no big deal. They go off all the freaking time in this city. We regularly see them in the distance out our windows, in every direction. So we were both surprised to be so taken with these fireworks. We loved them.

After the fireworks, the crowd started heading down the hill and back into the city. Given the crunch of people, the ideal move would be to either 1) leave speedily after the fireworks so as to be ahead of the big crowd or 2) plan to hang out on top of Calton Hill for a good half hour or more and just wait out the rush. We instead left right in the middle of the rush, which wasn’t ideal, but wasn’t awful, either.

Before the torchlight procession, we had been warned by friends to wear old outerwear and shoes, because it was very likely that we’d have wax dripped on us from the torches. Luckily our clothing came away completely unwaxed, but still we were glad to not be wearing things we cared too much about so we could relax and enjoy the parade instead of fearing wax.

Overall the torchlight procession was one of our very favorite parts of all the Hogmanay celebrations, and surprisingly so. The next time we’re in Edinburgh on a December 30th, we’re there.

Next up: Hogmanay, the main event (and also back to the Isle of Skye for the end of our Western Highlands road trip).