The Argyllshire Gathering and Oban Games had a royal guest to celebrate its 150th anniversary – and its return from a Covid absence.
Scotland’s summer event calendar has been decimated for the last two years due to the pandemic.
However, after a herculean effort, organisers of the Argyll event managed to ensure the gathering was one of the few in the country to go ahead with a crowd of about 2,500.
And the occasion was marked by a visit of Princess Anne.
‘Oban being Oban, everyone knew she was coming’
Princess Anne’s visit to the Argyllshire Gathering was kept a close-guarded secret due to security concerns.
However, while some were surprised to see the Princess Royal, word had spread among the crowd that a special guest was coming.
Games steward Paul Nicoll said: “We kept it quiet before the event, but Oban being Oban everyone seemed to know she was coming.
“It was good to have her here, especially for the tourists.
“She presented a few of the piping medals and we showed her a few of the areas like the heritage and dancing.
“I was very impressed with her – she was genuinely interested. I don’t know what her schedule was but she must have gone past it.”
Event celebrates 150 years of heritage
This year’s Argyllshire Gathering and Oban Games included traditional displays of Highland dancing and athletic prowess with a new record of throwing the weight over the bar.
However, special efforts were made to celebrate the 150th anniversary.
Great to see (and hear) the youngsters of Oban Pipe Band back again in Station Square today for Oban Games day. #Oban pic.twitter.com/7YchM5Tbnp
— Lorne MacLeod (@LorneOban) August 26, 2021
A special video was put together to show how the event had evolved over the years.
Mr Nicoll said: “It was originally a gathering for land owners and staff and was principally a meeting place for them but the games have grown from there.
“Unfortunately we had a lot of things planned around the anniversary, including a heritage project with the school, but we weren’t able to do them due to Covid.”
Event put together in just two months
Organisers usually have the entire year to make preparations for the next games.
However, a final decision to go ahead with the 150th anniversary games was only made two months ago.
Mr Nicoll said: “We got a lot of support from the Scottish Government event recovery fund, who were really fantastic, and gave us a grant to ensure we could go ahead.
“It allowed us to but extra things like hand sanitiser and other stuff, we wouldn’t have been able to afford the extra expense otherwise.
“Profits from the event goes towards funding piping in Argyll and we wouldn’t have wanted to risk losing money.”