"judge). End over end tosses are scored according to the hours on a clock, with a 12:00 score being highest (falling directly away from the thrower), down to a 9 or 3 for cabers that reach a vertical, before falling to the side. Caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a ""caber"". It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland the caber is usually made from a Larch tree and is typically tall and weighs . The term ""caber"" derives from the Gaelic word"
"Glengarry Highland Games The Glengarry Highland Games consist of a series of traditional Scottish competitions held annually in Maxville, Ontario, Canada, usually held the first weekend in August. The games span three days and attract as many as 50,000 people, they are the largest Highland Games of its kind outside Scotland. The Glengarry Highland Games are primarily intended to be a showcase of traditional Scottish heavy events, Highland Dance, pipe and drum competitions. The caber toss event involves tossing a 22-foot-long spruce log weighing about 125 lbs. The stone thrower event involves hurling a 25-lb. rock shot-put style. The 28-lb."
"Caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a ""caber"". It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland the caber is usually made from a Larch tree and is typically tall and weighs . The term ""caber"" derives from the Gaelic word ""cabar"", which refers to a wooden beam. The person tossing the caber is called a ""tosser"" or a ""thrower"". It is said to have developed from the need to toss logs across narrow chasms (in order to cross them), lumberjacks needing to transport"
"Highland games Highland games are events held in spring and summer in Scotland, United Kingdom and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain aspects of the games are so well known as to have become emblematic of Scotland, such as the bagpipes, the kilt, and the heavy events, especially the caber toss. While centred on competitions in piping and drumming, dancing, and Scottish heavy athletics, the games also include entertainment and exhibits related to other aspects of Scottish and Gaelic culture. The Cowal Highland Gathering, better known as the"
"Quercus suber Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ""Quercus"" sect. ""Cerris"". It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period. It grows to up to , although it is typically more stunted in its native environment. The leaves are long, weakly lobed or coarsely toothed, dark"
"bands also participate in mass piping events for the entertainment of the festival attendees. In the tradition of the Highland games, the festival hosts a series of Scottish strength competitions, including hammer throwing, tug-of-war, and caber tossing. There is also a 10k running event. Highland dancers participate in various classes of competitions, and provide entertainment throughout the weekend. Each year members of about 50 Scottish clans set up tents to display the history of their families. Traditional Scottish food and music are also available for the attendees, as well as whiskey tasting, quilting, horse shoeing, weaving and genealogical displays. Storytellers"
"games sets up a tent for visitors. At most tents, clan organizations have sign-up forms for membership and often have clothing and memorabilia with the clan's crest. Scottish Games in North Carolina A Highland Games event has been held each year since 1956 at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina. Celebrating the history and culture of Scots in North Carolina, it is among the first and largest modern Highland Games established in the United States. Competitions and displays take place in Scottish styles of piping, drumming, costume, dance, and traditional sports. The Scottish people have a long and rich history in the"
"also includes other forms, such as fiddling, harp circles and Celtic bands, usually spiced with a large amount of bagpipe music. The Cowal Highland Gathering hosts the annual World Highland Dancing Championship. This event gathers the best competitive dancers from around the world who compete for the SOBHD sanctioned World Championship title. At modern-day Highland Games events, a wide variety of other activities and events are generally available. Foremost among these are the clan tents and vendors of Scottish related goods. The various clan societies make the Highland games one of the main focus of their seasonal activities, usually making"
"Sycamore Gap Tree The Sycamore Gap Tree or Robin Hood Tree is a sycamore tree standing next to Hadrian's Wall near Crag Lough in Northumberland, England. It is located in a dramatic dip in the landscape and is a popular photographic subject, described as one of the most photographed trees in the country. It derives its alternative name from featuring in a prominent scene in the 1991 film """". The tree won the 2016 England Tree of the Year award. The Sycamore Gap Tree is by Hadrian's Wall, between Milecastle 39 and Crag Lough, about west of Housesteads Roman Fort"
"one writer has claimed that whatever plant which happened to be available was used. One group, the Siol Alpin group, of clans are said to have claimed or are thought to share a common descent. The Siol Alpin clans (clans ""Grant"", ""Gregor"", ""MacAulay"", ""Macfie"", ""Macnab"", ""Mackinnon"", ""Macquarrie"") are all attributed the clan badge of pine (Scots fir). In some cases, clan badges are derived from the heraldry of clan chiefs. For example, the Farquharsons have pine attributed as a clan badge of theirs (pine also appears on the uniforms of the Invercauld Highlanders). Pine was actually used in the Invercauld"
"Major Oak The Major Oak is a large English oak (""Quercus robur"") near the village of Edwinstowe in the midst of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's shelter where he and his merry men slept. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet (10 metres), a canopy of 92 feet (28 metres), and is about 800–1000 years old. In a 2002 survey, it was voted ""Britain's favourite tree"". In 2014 it was voted 'England's Tree of the Year' by a public poll by the Woodland Trust, receiving 18% of the"
"Cowal Highland Gathering The Cowal Highland Gathering (also known as the Cowal Games) is an annual Highland games held in the Scottish town of Dunoon, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, over the final weekend in August. The first record of an organised Highland games in the town is in 1871, the same year as the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban started. In subsequent years games were held at New Year. The organisation of the Cowal events and other games around Scotland was due to a wide interest in Highland sports, partly stemming from Queen Victoria's love of Scotland."
"""Cowal Games"", held in Dunoon, Scotland, every August, is the largest Highland games in the world, attracting around 3,500 competitors and somewhere in the region of 23,000 spectators from around the globe. Worldwide, however, it is exceeded in terms of spectators by two gatherings in the United States: the estimated 30,000 that attend Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina and the even larger gathering—the largest in the Northern Hemisphere—that has taken place every year since 1866. This event is currently held on Labor Day weekend in Pleasanton, California, and their Sesquicentennial Games held on September 5–6, 2015, attracted record crowds close"
"the village of Corstorphine, now a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. The tree was reputedly planted in the 15th century and is named as the form ""Acer pseudoplatanus"" f. ""corstorphinense"" Schwer. Not only was it claimed to be the ""largest sycamore in Scotland"" but also the scene of James Lord Forrester's murder in 1679. The tree was blown down in a storm on Boxing Day 1998, but a replacement, grown from a cutting, now stands in the churchyard of Corstorphine Kirk. The tree is commemorated in the badge of the Corstorphine Bowling Club of Edinburgh, designed in 1950 to feature the"
"with lace-up boots or moccasins, and with T-shirts or golf shirts, is becoming increasingly familiar at Highland Games. The kilt is associated with a sense of Scottish national pride and will often be seen being worn, along with a football top, when members of the Tartan Army are watching a football or rugby match. The small sgian-dubh knife is sometimes replaced by a wooden or plastic alternative or omitted altogether for security concerns: for example, it typically is not allowed to be worn or carried onto a commercial aircraft. Though the origins of the Irish kilt continue to be a"
"and drumming during the weeks leading up to and after the games at the historic Conference Center in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. At each Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, there are numerous vendors selling items such as kilts, hats, swords and daggers. Vendors from all over the region come to sell arts and crafts with a Scottish theme. Traditional Scottish dishes are available such as haggis, bridies, and fish and chips. There are also vendors selling packaged food that is difficult to find in the US such as Cadbury candy, shepherds pie mix, and highland honey. Each clan represented at the"
"a necessary material for the fabrication of hunting knives—long, curved sabers that were generally used as a forest tool. These blades became notorious among Han settlers, given their alternative use to decapitate Highland indigenous enemies in customary headhunting expeditions. The Highland peoples were renowned for their skill in headhunting, which was a symbol of bravery and valor. Almost every people group except the Yami (Tao) practiced headhunting. Once the victims had been dispatched the heads were taken then boiled and left to dry, often hanging from trees or shelves constructed for the purpose. A party returning with a head was"
"44-inch (112 cm) height requirement. The structure and track was mostly built from 850,000 feet (259,080 m) of Douglas Fir. In the past, the Douglas Fir had been treated with pesticides which were not considered environmentally friendly and the track and supports were slowly being replaced with southern yellow pine. The track was made by bolting seven layers of wood. In most places on the ride, there were two layers of southern yellow pine, which sat atop five layers of Douglas-Fir. Older sections of track still had seven layers of Douglas-Fir (mostly on the lift) and there were refurbished sections"
"the face of decency"". The typical kilt as seen at modern Highland games events is made of twill woven worsted wool. The twill weave used for kilts is a ""2–2 type"", meaning that each weft thread passes over and under two warp threads at a time. The result is a distinctive diagonal-weave pattern in the fabric which is called the twill line. This kind of twill, when woven according to a given sett or written colour pattern ""(see below)"" is called tartan. In contrast kilts worn by Irish pipers are made from solid-colour cloth, with saffron or green being the"
"personal growth of its members. The Gilwell Oak was voted England's Tree of the Year by the public in 2017 and was subsequently selected by a panel of experts as the UK Tree of the Year. It is currently a contender in the public vote for 2018 European Tree of the Year. The Gilwell Oak is a Common or English Oak (""Quercus robur"") of approximately 450–550 years of age. It is in Gilwell Park, a former country estate in Epping Forest that was purchased by The Scout Association in 1919 for use as their headquarters. The tree is reputed to"
"and over 40 competitors as well. In addition, the children at the festival can also have the chance to practice their own skills at traditional highland games. Competitions include the hammer throw, weight toss, turning the caber, turning the sheaf, Highland wrestling, kilted mile run and the clan tug-o-war. Traditionally the first events of the Games are the marathon and the bear. The Marathon is a 26-mile-long race beginning in Boone, North Carolina and ending at MacRae Meadows. The bear is a 5-mile foot race that begins at the bottom of Grandfather Mountain and ends at the top of the"
"of the most famous families of ""hereditary pipers"" along with the MacArthur (pipers to MacDonald of Sleat), MacGregor (pipers to Campbell of Glenlyon), Rankins (pipers to the MacLeans of Coll, Duart and Mull). The term ""hereditary"" is not a native Gaelic term, though in popular lore it has been used to imply an above average skill or special status. In the Scottish Highlands, and in Europe as a whole, until the Industrial Revolution most positions were inherited, ""from the chief down to the humblest cotter"". Since 1967, the MacCrimmon Memorial Piobaireachd Competition has taken place every year at Dunvegan Castle"
"Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games The Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games is a three day cultural festival which has been held in the town of Fergus, Ontario for more than 70 years. The festival includes events leading to the World's Scottish Athletic Championship. It is the oldest festival of its kind in North America. The festival was first held in 1946 as a two day event in Victoria Park in downtown Fergus, organized by Alex Ferguson. The festival later expanded to three days; it outgrew the park and was moved to the grounds of the Center Wellington Township"
"Sweet Chestnut (16' girth – Bullock Park); Beech (18' 3"" girth – Old Wood); Cut-leaved Beech (8' 11"" girth); Larch (8' 9"" girth); Cedar of Lebanon (9' 11"" girth – Bullock Park); Scots Pine (11' girth – between Castle and Mains). Eglinton is best remembered for the lavish, if ill-fated Eglinton Tournament, a medieval-style tournament organised in 1839 by the 13th Earl. The expense and extent of the preparations became news across Scotland, and the railway line was even opened in advance of its official opening to ferry guests to Eglinton. Although high summer, in typical Scottish style torrential rain"
"and modern Celtic arts are often showcased. These could include harpers' circles, Scottish country dancing, and one or more entertainment stages. In addition, most events usually feature a pre-event ceilidh (a type of social event with traditional music, dancing, song, and other forms of entertainment). Various food vendors will also offer assorted types of traditional Scottish refreshment and sustenance. On 1 August 1997 Canada Post issued 'Highland Games' designed by Fraser Ross, based on photographs by Andrew Balfour. The 45¢ stamps are perforated 12.5 x 13 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited. Highland games Highland games are"
"visible from the nearby B6318 Military Road. The name ""Sycamore Gap"" was coined by a National Trust employee when the Ordnance Survey were remapping the area and asked if the previously unnamed spot had a designation. The tree is a sycamore (""Acer pseudoplatanus"") and is a few hundred years old. It once stood alongside others but they have been removed over time for unknown reasons, possibly to improve sightlines or for gamekeeping purposes. The tree featured in a key scene of the 1991 Kevin Costner film """" and has subsequently become known as the ""Robin Hood Tree"". It appeared in"
"December 2004 Karen McMullan was left at Drumkeeragh forest, along with her burnt out car, after being held hostage for more than 24 hours. The kidnapping was part of the robbery of Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast, where her husband worked. Drumkeeragh Forest Drumkeeragh Forest is a mixed coniferous forest located on the lower slopes of Slieve Croob, near Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland. It is used for commercial felling and is managed by the Forest Service Northern Ireland. The forest is predominantly made up of sitka spruce but Norway spruce, western red cedar, European larch, Douglas fir, noble fir, and Scots,"
"between Ned Kelly and Robin Hood; the tradition maintains that he buried his takings under ""a tree marked with the Ace of Spades"". The roof beams of the Palace of Westminster in London and the Royal Palace in Amsterdam are said to have been made from ancient oaks felled when Cratloe Woods were cleared. Traditionally, it is claimed that wood from the forest was used in St. Mary's Cathedral in Limerick. The church has its original roof, constructed with Irish oak and with a set of carved misericords—one of the few remaining in Ireland dating from before the 16th century."
"County Highland Games hold a full spectrum of EUSPBA sanctioned pipe band and individual piping and drumming competitions. Band competition includes grade III, IV and V bands. On stage music is also part of the festivities. Music ranges from traditional Gaelic and Celtic bands to more progressive bands that merge rock and Celtic sound. Numerous vendors selling everything from kilts and other clothing, to swords and daggers. Vendors from throughout the Southeast are on hand to sell Scottish-themed merchandise. The annual Ceilidh (pronounced Kaylee) is held the Saturday evening of the games at the local vineyard (Cypress Bend Vineyards in"
"Argyllshire Gathering The Argyllshire Gathering is a Highland games held in Oban, Scotland. A meeting on 23 August 1871 held at the Argyll Arms Hotel led to a resolution to have an ""Annual Gathering of the Gentry of the County of Argyll for social purposes"". This was to be called the Argyllshire Gathering and was funded by member subscriptions. The first Gathering was held in 1873. The Highland Society of London donated a Gold Medal, which along with the Gold Medal also donated to the Northern Meeting is one of the most prestigious prizes in solo piping. Faye Henderson won"
"throughout the garden and the reserve beyond for site drainage. Hambledon Reserve is a flat area devoted to passive recreation. It provides the landscape setting for the cottage, Coachman's cottage and garden. The density of tree cover increases towards the cottage with several mature trees dating from the Macarthur period of ownership. These include several majestic English oaks (Quercus robur), a cork oak (Q.suber) a hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), Brazilian pepper tree (Schinus auriera) and a large camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora). Other species, some of a more recent date, include a firewheel tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus), Norfolk Island hibiscus/ white oak"
"Trees for Life (Scotland) Trees for Life is a registered charity working to restore the Caledonian Forest and its unique wildlife to the Scottish Highlands. The Caledonian Forest once covered a large area of the Highlands of Scotland as extensive stands of majestic Scots pine, interspersed with birch, rowan, juniper and aspen trees, but is now reduced to about 2% of its former extent. Through planting native species of trees, removing non-native species and fencing seedlings to protect them from overgrazing by deer and sheep, Trees for Life aim to help the natural regeneration of the forest. Their long-term goal"
"games held each year in Kentucky, along with the Kentucky Scottish Weekend in Carrollton and the Western Kentucky Highland Festival in Murray. Glasgow Highland Games The Glasgow Highland Games are a regional highland games and Scottish heritage celebration held annually in and near Glasgow, Kentucky. The main festival grounds are located at Barren River Lake State Resort Park, about from Glasgow, while most other events are held in the city proper. Glasgow is named for Glasgow, Scotland, the country's largest city, and the area was originally settled by Scots-Irish immigrants. The area has long celebrated its Scottish heritage in many"