Huge crowds gathered in Inverness at the weekend for the city’s Highland Games.
Organisers lined up a packed weekend of activities, treating visitors to not only the traditional heavyweight, athletic and dancing events at Bught Park.
The move from the Northern Meeting Park meant that the Inverness Gala could also be incorporated into the programme.
The weather stayed fair and Highland history was made with Provost Helen Carmichael becoming the first female chieftain of the games since it established in 1822.
City councillor Glynis Sinclair, who helped organise the event, said: “She played her part extremely well and even got (Inverness MP) Drew Hendry up to join the mass Highland fling.
“It’s been a great weekend.
“Figures may have been down yesterday compared to Saturday, which is disappointing when we had some great competitions on, including the tug o’ war and the strongest woman competition.
“But perhaps next year we’ll stage those also on the Saturday.”
Fellow organiser and councillor Graham Ross, who also provided a safety vehicle for yesterday’s 10K race, said: “It’s been tremendous. We had huge crowds on Saturday.
“There was a huge increase in the number of activities around the field, which certainly went down well.
“The heavies, the bubble football, the traders event and the clans tent all went down really well – and, of course, the Army’s various displays.
“The stand was absolutely jam-packed and you heard accents from across the world, which was great. The move to the Bught Park to incorporate the Inverness Gala has been well worth while.”
The revival of the gala – which was one of the highlights of the Highland Capital’s calendar back in the 1950’s – generated considerable interest, with a range of community groups working with the council’s events team to capture the excitement of
previous traditions while adding a modern twist with new events.