Clan Hay at the Braemar Gathering in 2019

With regret, we report that the Aboyne Highland Games committee has reluctantly arrived at the decision to cancel the games this year.  The event had been scheduled for Saturday 1 August, and Clan Hay has held its main annual gathering here since 1982.  It is believed this is the first time in its 152 year history that the Aboyne Games has been cancelled in peacetime.

Similarly, the Royal Braemar Gathering, due to take place on Saturday 7 September and where Clan Hay also dispenses hospitality to members and visiting Hays, has been cancelled.  The organisers of both of these highlights of the Highland Games calendar have thought long and hard about whether to continue, but recognise that the visitors from abroad - principally from North America, Australasia, England and continental Europe - on whom their success depends, are unlikely to be visiting our shores this year as the Coronavirus lockdown continues indefinitely.

So it seems that Clan Hay's annual gathering for 2020 will proceed in a greatly attenuated form if, in fact, it proceeds at all.  For now, it is our intention to proceed with the annual lunch at Delgatie Castle on Sunday 2 August.  The Government's advice will continue to be monitored to ensure we do nothing to endanger public health, but the Delgatie lunch requires much less in the way of forward planning than the major games events.  Keep an eye on this website for any updates and the Clan Hay Society and its office bearers hope all Hays worldwide continue to stay safe and well through this global crisis, unprecedented in most of our lifetimes.