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Highland Games
Highland Games are staged throughout Scotland
every year, including at Aberlour where the games are an annual
event. The original purpose of the contest is thought to have
been the selection of the bravest and finest warriors by clan
chiefs. Hence the trials of strength, such as tossing the caber
and the hammer throw, which are still a feature of the games today.
Sword-dancing and several of the track events also have their
origins in ancient times, the essential criteria being strength,
stamina, accuracy and agility.
Surrounding the games, made colourful by all
the tartans on display, are sideshows like whisky tastings, cookery
competitions, Highland music and dancing. Queen Victoria gave
the Highland Games a boost when she became a regular visitor to
the Braemar event near her castle at Balmoral. There is always
plenty for the visitor to do and see – though they would
be wise to keep an eye on the flying hammers, which have been
known to go dangerously astray.
Highlands
The Scottish Highlands are made up of the two
regions, Highland and Grampion. The whisky-producing area of Speyside
is in Grampion, and at the heart of Speyside is Aberlour. Created
some 500 million years ago through massive volcanic upheavals,
the Highlands are among the oldest rock formations on earth. During
the Ice Age the landscape underwent further dramatic changes,
the glaciers cropping and smoothing the mountain tops and gouging
out the glens. When the ice subsequently melted, Scotland's famous
lochs were formed.
The Highlands have been described by ecologists
as the last great wilderness in Europe. They are large and largely
empty, a natural habitat for wildlife and for those in pursuit
of it: fishermen, deer-stalkers and hunters of game. Others go
there to climb or to ski, or simply to admire the grandeur of
the scenery. Down the slopes of its hills and mountains fast-flowing
streams tumble through rich peat cloaked in fragrant heather.
The air is clear and bracing, the characteristic Highland mist
a soft embrace. All in all, the perfect conditions for making
whisky.
Hogmanay
The last day of the year and the biggest in
Scotland (Hogmanay also means a present given on that day, traditionally
a cake for children). There are many superstitions and rituals
associated with Hogmanay. In ancient times, for example, Highlanders
would surround each other's houses and thrash the walls with clubs
to drive out evil spirits. They would chant ritual words of good
luck, hoping to keep at bay fairies, demons and other "nasties".
One Hogmanay tradition still carried on is that
of "first footing", where the first visitor across the
threshold after midnight on New Year's Eve is given a welcoming
drink. No prizes for guessing what first footers in Aberlour receive
as a "wee dram".
Hospital
The Fleming Cottage Hospital was opened in
1900, five years after James Fleming's death. The hospital, for
the sick and poor of Aberlour, was built with a legacy of £9,000
left by James Fleming specifically for that purpose. It was one
of several generous gifts to the local community by the founder
of the Aberlour Distillery. The cottage hospital transformed health
care in the district, and is still in use today.
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