Broughty Ferry and the Dundee Hooley!

After our day in St. Andrews we headed up to Broughty Ferry where Mark’s mom lives. It is just outside the city of Dundee, Scotland and a picturesque coastal town. There is an old castle to defend the town and the entrance to the River Tay. The castle was built in 1496 and today serves as a maritime and historical museum of the area.

We also went into the city of Dundee for an afternoon and were greeted with this sign:

We found ourselves at the 2023 Dundee Hooley! A Scottish Hooley is a party, filled with traditional music and dancing. This one is held annually in Dundee celebrating St. Andrew’s Day, and we happened to be there at the right time!

There were street performers, a stage for bands, and a parade! Pyro Celtica, a group of Celtic dancers using fire, performed in front of the cheering crowd. Scottish dancing with fire: now that’s a celebration!

It felt like the entire city showed up!

Bubbles and a community kids band performing traditional Scottish music:

There was a parade including local groups as well as some puppeteers! The dragon represents Dundee and the unicorn represents Scotland.

There was even the Edinburgh Women’s Samba Drummers, Commotion!

At the end of the parade, a group of Santas showed up at the pub. Of course! Happy Dundee Hooley everyone!