Hank Collins, the Earl of Erroll and Pipe Major Phillippe Vervoort

The Annual Gathering of Clan Hay took place as usual at the Aboyne Highland Games on Saturday 2nd August 2014.  Clan Hay was one of about 10 of the main Aberdeenshire families dispensing hospitality from their tents in the clan village on the games field.  Others included Clans Gordon, Irvine, Burnett, Farquharson, Forbes, Fraser, Leslie and Leask.

The Aboyne Gathering is one of the major Highland Games of the circuit and a 'must see' event for anyone in the area who is looking to experience the traditional culture of Scotland.  Athletic events included the traditional 'heavy' sports of tossing the caber, throwing the light and heavy hammer, putting the light and heavy stone, throwing the weight by ring and throwing the weight over the bar.  There were also competitions, at the highest level of skill, between pipe bands, individual pipers and Highland dancers.

On the evening of Friday 1st August a group of Hays met for dinner at the lovely Lodge on the Loch restaurant, situated on Aboyne Loch on the outskirts of the village.  Following the games, Clan Hay hosted a supper and ceilidh party in Crathes village hall, around 12 miles east of Aboyne, where around 60Hays and their guests enjoyed an evening of food, drink and dancing.

On Sunday 3rd August, Hays met for a picnic at Old Slains, the Aberdeenshire home of the Earl of Erroll, Chief of Clan Hay.

Guided tours of the two castles of Slains - the ruins of the 'old' castle at Collieston and of its 'new' counterpart four miles north at Cruden Bay - were conducted during the afternoon, when we were privileged to be joined by a party of Danish Hays who happened to be touring the area.

Plans for 2015 are now well underway and will include a week-long tour of Scotland taking in the major sites associated with Clan Hay, including the castles of Duns, Delgatie and Slains and, of course, our ancestral lands of Errol in Perthshire.  See the 2015 Programme tab on this site for full details.