Hogmanay & New Year.

Forget the countdown on telly. On New Year’s Eve, Stonehaven swings balls of fire around its high street, Comrie marches flaming torches through the village, Biggar lights a huge bonfire and in Allendale men carry burning tar barrels on their heads.

Then on New Year’s Day, the brave take a dip: the Loony Dook in South Queensferry and the Saundersfoot swim in Pembrokeshire. In Mountain Ash, runners race through the streets on Nos Galan.