January in Scotland brings Happy New Year wishes to everyone. In Scotland, we celebrate Hogmanay with a traditional Ceilidh. The evening finishes with the traditional Robbie Burns “For Auld Lang Syne” and a bit more Scottish tradition with The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond – a great way to end the year and bring in the New Year.
Scotland this year will be alive with superb street parties to bring in the New Year Edinburgh is renowned, but Inverness and Grantown-on-Spey, plus many smaller towns, hold wonderful events filled with bagpipes and New Year wishes.
And then, in a truly traditional style partying is followed by a bit of first footing and one of my favourites – the celebrated Scottish Black Bun. A family favourite if you have not tasted Black Bun, it is a densely packed fruit cake baked in a pastry casing and is a true treat from my childhood Christmases. Another tradition we can link back to Robbie Burns.
And, of course, Scotland celebrates Burns Night on the 25th of January. The date commemorates the poet’s birthday and is a 300-year-old tradition involving haggis, neeps and tatties. True Scottish fare and just right for a cold winter evening.
At long last, because fortunately, most of us have had our Covid vaccinations, we can now be reassured that large gatherings are going ahead again. Only the potential extra costs of electricity hangover events.
Let’s hope everyone can manage to keep exploring. 2022 bought us many lovely guests from all over the UK and the World. We had many honeymooners exploring Scotland and many first-time visitors to Scotland. Towards the end of the Summer, many international visitors whose trips had been hanging in the balance and suddenly it was all systems go!
So looking forward, this means January is a wonderful time to plan your visit to Scotland. To be honest, unless you are a skier or a true snow lover, perhaps even a photographer, whilst Scotland is very beautiful in January, or any other time of the year, there may be better times to visit. Many Visitor attractions are not open until Easter, and sunset times are still around 3.30 in the afternoon, leaving visitors with very short daylight hours.
Look at what works for your visit to Scotland and what events are happening so you can plan your Scottish itinerary to make the most of your time.
Don’t forget that booking direct with us saves you 10%, and if your stay is for 3 nights or more, this is our best value nightly rate, and even then, some guests say it is not long enough. This year we have upgraded a couple of our rooms and now have two two-bedroomed suites if you travel with family or friends.
As with many other parts of the World, January in Scotland always brings in New Year Resolutions, often involving diets and exercise. I am sure you all have your own Resolutions but don’t worry if you have missed Hogmanay celebrations and need another chance to celebrate in Scotland. There will be a second celebration of the New Year with the Burning of the Clavie at Burghead on the 11th of January.