If William Wallace had had a car...

It was somewhere between Inveraray and Stirling that our sense of adventure kicked in (although looking back, it might have been fatigue) and we decided to make a pit stop in the charmingly unassuming village of Luss on the shore of Loch Lomond. Hoping for nothing but a quick bite and some scenic views of the surrounding hills, we were more than pleasantly surprised to find that Luss was hosting its very own Highland Games that day. Men in kilts lifting weights? Yes please!

As we walked up to the grounds, we were greeted by the quickly rising sound of excitement, chatter and general Scottishness; a true cacophony of drums, bagpipes, cheering and laughter, mixed with a healthy dose of loud conversations in beautifully incomprehensible accents. A large, rectangular patch of grass was flanked with tents and gazebos dressed up with tartan fabrics and clan crests, and food trucks were selling Haggis in styrofoam cups. They also sold burgers and hot dogs, but I’m trying to paint a picture here.

The athletic competitions themselves revolved around acts of brute strength - throwing hammers and the like - but none were quite as impressive as the notorious Caber Toss. A long wooden pole - we’re talking almost 20 feet here - is balanced upright against the thrower’s neck and shoulders before being tossed away from the athlete, flipping over in the process. The fact alone that the judges were standing mere feet from where the poles ended up hitting the ground was thrilling enough to make the event worth watching, but did I mention that everyone was wearing kilts? Everyone was wearing kilts.

As we were settling down to watch a bagpipe competition (in which I assume the aim was to make bagpipes sound bearable - they mostly succeeded), it struck me how incredibly proud these people were of their heritage. On a yearly basis, the Highland Games attract people of Scottish descent from all over the world, not because of how much fun it is to witness the drama of bagpipe battle circles (although let me tell you, the drama!), but because of how important their Scottish heritage and its traditions are to their personal identity. In a pipe-sound-induced daze, I briefly considered proudly displaying my own heritage with a tattoo, but quickly discarded that idea due to a general dislike of pain and discomfort.

The Luss Highland Games take place on Saturday 4th July 2015 in Luss’ Games Park, but other games take place from late May to mid September all throughout Scotland.