Day 30: Why Winter is not off-season in Scotland - it all happens!

[David9478]

Hi everyone, I’m a relative newbie to AirBnB even if I'm an oldbie in most other ways. Finally here on my own in a Kelso town mansion meant for the extended families of 200 years ago, my daughter Ailsa and her husband Colin (experienced AirBnB guests and occasional hosts) helped me to list two 1000 sq ft 3-bed spaces. I live in the middle!

The midwinter season is always a favorite time for me, but that’s almost inevitable in Scotland. I’ve been part of the town’s folk and live music scene for over 25 years, and it’s a lovely social aspect to life as well as a chance to see visitors returning year after year. Photo: a full house at one of the club’s festival daytime concerts.

Our autumn begins with a folk festival on the first weekend of September and winter probably starts properly with St Andrew’s Day on November 30th – Halloween always means plenty happening between. St Andrew’s Night isn’t anything special but if there’s anything happening like music sessions in pubs there’s normally a traditional Scottish feel.

Here’s a video of a Thursday night session at the Cross Keys:

But in my town we have traditional music every week, year round, with fiddle and smallpipe, flute, whistle, guitar and more on Thursday nights? That’s in addition to the transatlantic cross-generational mix of songs on Fridays!

Christmas is not traditionally celebrated in Scotland as much as Auld Year’s Nicht (it’s only called Hogmanay in Edinburgh, and New Year’s Eve over the border in England) though many Scots always use those names. As an incomer, born on the other side of the border in Cumbria, I’m happy with all three. But we’ve regularly had Christmas Eve gatherings in Kelso (the Town Hall this year, below) and the surrounding villages, whether at home or in a music-friendly pub, before heading for midnight carol service – or bed…

It’s December 31st which pays the piper (literally) if local hotels, restaurants and pubs decide to make a night of it as many do. It would be hard not to find music and good cheer, and a traditional welcome in for 2023, in any of the Border towns or Auld Reekie.

Well into January the lights stay up and things still feel very Christmassy in Edinburgh even if the sales are the big draw. 

There’s not much of a break until Burns Night makes an early appearance - officially it’s January 25th, but starts much sooner from demand for Burns Suppers with piper, haggis, songs and if you’re lucky a memorable recitation in the lallans (Lowland) dialect of the bard. For the record,‘memorable’ not ‘comprehensible’ for many visitors as the ear may need tuning for a few years to catch every word! Photo: Burns Night in the Cobbles Inn.

It doesn’t stop until early in February - and by then we’re seeing the days get brighter and longer. Even the less hardy walkers are back on the hills and Spring is round the corner - even if he Eildon Hills can sometimes have a touch of early morning snow in April!

Photographs © David Kilpatrick

[Bhumika]

Thank you @David9478, for sharing this wonderful Scotland experience with us! Beautiful pictures.

We're happy to announce the Month of Celebration!

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[Sinem11]

Looks amazing!

[Laurelle3 · Accepted solution]

@David9478 thank you for sharing your insite of Scotlands not so Christmas but the celebrations of Hogmanay- New Years eve.

     My first real experience of Hogmanay was in 1969 married 1 month, husband was in the Australian navy training to be a submariner in Faslane and we were staying in Helensbough. We had walked and were waiting to go to the kirk, it was so cold with an hour before the service we decided to go back to our BnB and came in near midnight.        The owner Mary (pre Airbnb) was so pleased that we were first footing (husband) had dark hair and she quickly gave him a piece of coal so that he was bringing good luck to their household. We ended sharing supper which was a surprise and sang Auld Land Syne.

     Thank you for the pictures to bring back memories. 

[David9478]

Happy New Year! No lumps of coal now as we're not allowed to burn it, but for once I got to be a First Foot on Sunday afternoon visiting friends. Not many now turn up at the door at one second past midnight.

[Gillian166]

@David9478  I had no idea that Hogmanay was only in Edinburgh. like many Aussies I have some Scot's blood (my grt granny) and I have been once, but had planned another trip in 2020 with my mum, we both being massive Outlander fans, we wanted to traipse around the various sites and just have a "girls weekend" away (although obviously, it takes a weekend in travel time just to get to Europe, but we Aussies are accustomed to long distances, no biggie!), but.... 2020 and beyond were the Lockdown Years. I really want to honour our plans and do a mother/daughter trip before my mum is too old (my mum is 74 and she's still amazing). Your post here has inspired me to make sure I make it happen! 

[David9478]

Hogmanay is everywhere but mostly it's a dinner with a ceilidh dance and some Scottish songs ending with Auld Lang Syne, in a hotel - small pubs and bars just tend to have a DJ or a solo act. I was out with a friend - she doesn't do Scottish songs actually does a seriously good Joan Baez repertoire - until 9.30pm doing an hour or so of songs, and after that they had a DJ - no Hogmanay as such in Scotland's smallest bar! Edinburgh in contrast had a huge street party with about 10,000 gathered, all the bars and pubs open, most hotels even if they had their own entertainment seeing guests go outside for the fireworks and final welcoming in the New Year.

What Borderers now do if they want to be in Edinburgh normally is get a taxi or drive to Tweedbank station and take the Waverley Line train. However, there's no train back after midnight and taxi fares for 45 miles or so are very high. So many pubs and hotels organise a coach trip. The last full Edinburgh Hogmanay I went to (before it became a huge international date) was a 56-seater coach from the town. For over ten years my daughter and her husband stayed in Edinburgh, most recently with a flat in the New Town right at the heart of things, but they always left the city for Hogmanay and rented their flat out on AirBnB... generally spent the holiday period in the USA with friends! They helped me set up my AirBnBs and now have a house a few miles away with a very quick drive into Edinburgh, where she works, but they don't go into the city for Hogmanay. There's so much locally without the crowds, and you probably know the piper by first name and meet many friends out for the night.

My AirBnB guests this New Year had booked the evening at the Ednam House Hotel for one group, and the Cross Keys for the other. Both these are great Kelso venues supporting local farmers with some of the best menus for sustainable, organic, almost zero transport-miles food - and supporting local musicians. Both are about 400m walk away. We have a very strong music tradition, I've organised and helped run the town's folk club for over 25 years and we have helped produce several BBC Young Musician of Year winners and many professionals touring worldwide. Much of the year you might encounter them entirely free, just joining others in a pub or playing voluntarily in public and fund-raising events, but Hogmanay is important as a 'dress up in the kilt and get paid' night whether they travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow or further afield - or stay in town. One thing you can be sure of, if you come here and avoid the Edinburgh crush (and costs for car access and parking) you get a Hogmanay which is probably even more memorable.