Every year, scantily clad swimmers splash into the sea as part of the Loony Dook.
Usually decked in fancy dress, as Father Christmas or in bright tartan, these brave (or foolish) souls brace the chilly waters as part of a Scottish tradition to herald in the New Year.
The biggest and best known Loony Dook usually takes place in South Queensferry outside Edinburgh, and sees hundreds dash into the cold embrace of the Firth of Forth.
Read more: Loony Dook: Sacred tradition? Hangover cure? Daft idea?
As was the case in 2023, this year's Loony Dook has been removed from the official Hogmanay programme.
However, the event is still going ahead as organised by locals, with funds being raised for the local RNLI.
What is the Loony Dook? History of New Year tradition
Legend goes that the first Loony Dook happened in South Queensferry on January 1, 1987 when locals jokingly suggested taking a dip as a Hogmanay hangover cure.
The name comes from the abbreviation for "lunatic" and the Scots word dook, which means bathe.
Gradually the event grew in popularity in the 1990s, becoming part of the official Hogmanay calendar and broadcast live on the BBC at the turn of the millennium in 2000.
Read more: Edinburgh Hogmanay 2023 road closures, full list
But the event was criticised in recent years for becoming too commercialised. Organisers introduced a fee of £6 for people to take part in 2011, with proceeds to go to the RNLI and local charities.
This was raised to £10 in 2016 and £12 in 2020, which was called a "damned disgrace" by the event's original founders.
The Loony Dook was cancelled in January 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid pandemic. In January 2023 it returned under local organisers who do not charging fees for the dook, but instead ask for a donation to the local RNLI.
At its height, the event attracted around 1,000 dookers and thousands of spectators.
When and where is the Loony Dook 2024?
The Loony Dook takes place every year on January 1 as part of a New Year's Day tradition.
Though dooks are held across Scotland, the main event happens in South Queensferry.
The Loony Dook will take place in South Queensferry on January 1, 2024, at around 2pm from the Boathouse steps.
Alternative Loony Dooks in Scotland
Inspired by the South Queensferry tradition, Loony Dooks have sprung up in coastal communities across Scotland.
Similar events have been held on January 1 in St Andrews, Cockenzie, Dalgety Bay, Dunbar, Helensburgh, Kirkcaldy, North Berwick, and Portobello.
-
Portobello Loony Dook will see crowds gathering on the beach at around 1pm
-
Kirkcaldy Loony Dook takes place at 12pm at Kirkcaldy Promenade, with funds raised for local charities and the rugby club
-
St Andrews Loony Dook is being held at 10am from East Sands car park with the North Sea expected to be a "toasty nine degrees"
-
Kinghorn Loony Dook is going ahead at Kinghorn Beach from 11am, organised by the local RNLI with dookers told to register before the event
-
Broughty Ferry Loony Dook is held from 2.45pm, with tickets at £10 per adult
-
Dunbar Loony Dook will take place at Belhaven Bay from 12pm on January 1, weather permitting, with participants meeting at the picnic bench by the surf centre
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel