Atholl Highlanders' Parade & Highland Games
The Atholl Gathering marks one of the season's first Highland Games. The festival starts with the annual Parade of the Atholl Highlanders - Britain's only legitimate private army. Highlights include highland dancing, piping, races, competitive feats of strength and tossing the caber.
The festival always takes place over the last full weekend of May with the parade on the Saturday and the games on the Sunday. The Atholl Highlanders were first formed by the fourth Duke of Atholl in 1778, who intended the 1000 men to fight in the American War of Independence.
However, in later years Queen Victoria presented the Highlanders with two colours in recognition of their services while she stayed at Blair Castle in 1844. Those colours are still at the heart of the spectacular parade.
| Venue Information: | Blair Castle |
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| Full Name: | |
| Cost: | Summer: £8.75; students & seniors £7.50; 5-16 yrs £5.25; family £24 Winter: £6.75; students & seniors £5.85; 5-16 yrs £3.95; family £15 |
| Opening Hours: | Mar-Oct 9.30am - 5.30pm; Nov-Mar 9.30am - 2.30pm |
| Address: | PH18 5TL |
| Directions: | By Car: 8km (5 miles) north-west of Pitlochry on the B8097. By Train: to Blair Atholl |
| Contact Details: | Blair Castle |
| Email: | office@blair-castle.co.uk |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 1796 481 207 |
| Other Information: | Blair Castle |
| Website: | Blair Castle Official Website |
| Website: | Blair Atholl Website |
| Name: | Visit Scotland Perthshire |
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| Location: | Perth |
| Address: | West Mill Street, Perth, PH1 5QP, Scotland |
| Email: | perth@visitscotland.com |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 1738 450600 |
| Name: | Visit Scotland (Scotland's National Tourism Board) |
| Location: | Scotland |
| Address: | Ocean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh, EH6 6JH, Scotland |
| Email: | info@visitscotland.com. |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 131 472 2222 |
| Name: | The National Trust |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Email: | enquiries@ntrust.org.uk |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 20 8315 1111 |
| Fax: | +44 (0) 20 8466 6824 |
| Name: | Visit Britain |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Address: | 1 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5HE |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 20 7578 1000 |
