The Earl of Erroll and Alex Forbes of Druminnor

The annual gathering of Clan Hay took place, as usual, at the Aboyne Highland Games in Aberdeenshire on Saturday 4th August.  Taking our place in the Clan Village alongside many of the other major families of north east Scotland (including clans Burnett, Leask, Irvine, Forbes, Gordon, Fraser,Leslie and Farquharson) the Clan Hay tent was hosted by Malcolm and Debbie Hay of Seaton, who dispensed hospitality and conversation throughout the day to many visitors from Scotland and from much further afield.

The Aboyne Gathering is one of the major events in the Highland Games calendar and plays host to a wide spectrum of Scottish events for visitors to enjoy.  These include piping competitions (both for pipe bands and individual pipers), Highland dancing, track and field athletics and, of course, the famous 'heavy' events which are synonymous with Highland Games the world over, including tossing the caber, throwing the hammer, putting the stone and many more. 

Tom Hye and Pam Rotheroe Hay lead the dancing at Cruden Bay Harbour

Following a hectic and successful day on the games field, Hays spent the evening at a ceilidh at nearby Crathes village hall.  This evening of food, drink and dancing was sharedby three clans: the Hays, the Burnetts and the Leasks.  We are grateful to our excellent 'caller' Sheila, who put us through our paces with some of the less well known country dances, and to our treasurer, Pam Rotheroe-Hay, who organised this event.

The next gathering will take place at Aboyne on Saturday 3rd August 2013, where a warm welcome will be extended to all Hays and those associated with the name.  This will be the climax of a week long tour which begins by commemorating  the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden: see the '2013 Programme' tab above for full details of these events and how to participate.