The spectators at the games cheer on the new world champion. He is a giant of a man. It's no wonder that the Czech with this stature really cleaned up at the Highland Games. A few hours earlier, I would never have dreamed that I would be standing next to the tree trunk throwing champion.
The day got off to a mixed start. At six o'clock in the morning, we took the bus from Glasgow towards Inveraray. Across the wild Scottish landscape - which, however, lay behind a veil of rain. A good two hours' drive later, I finally arrived in the village of just under 700 inhabitants. There were two hotels, three cafés, a prison that had become a museum and a whiskey distillery (as befits a Scottish village).
After a breakfast of porridge and surprisingly tasty fruit, I asked the waitress when the Highland Games would be starting. There wasn 't a single poster even hinting that the best weightlifting athletes in the world would be competing here in a few hours. However, it wasn't them who answered, but a couple from the next table. In the most beautiful Gaelic. I made up an answer from the snippets of words I understood.
It starts traditionally with bagpipe music
Shortly afterwards, I trudged through the village, which was founded in 1747 and lies right next to Loch Fyne, carrying an umbrella. Apart from the aforementioned prison, the main attraction is the fairytale castle "Castle Inveraray", where the Campell clan lived. This is the founding family of the village. I was to see this very castle later. But for now, I was happy to have got a good spot for the start of the event. Together with the group of bagpipers, I made my way to the venue for the games.
Once there, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the rides, food stalls, souvenir stands and porta-potties. There was a cordoned-off area in the middle. There were a few mats here, some lines had been drawn on the grass with chalk and there were a few tents. I found it a little disillusioning. Somehow I had expected more fuss.
The Highland Games are more than just throwing logs
But my disappointment quickly subsided when I took a closer look around. I had a certain image of the Highland Games in my head. Men dragging heavy tree trunks, throwing hammers or hurling balls across the lawn. All of this was really happening, but there was much more going on in the unassuming meadow.
The Highland Games can almost be compared to the Olympic Games. The aforementioned weightlifting events are just a small part of the sporting achievements that took place just a few meters from Inveraray Castle. A running competition took place on the meadow, which was wet from constant rain, the athletes did the triple jump, competed in wrestling and even a cycling race took place. On the wet meadow, mind you.
There were usually several competitions going on at the same time. This made it somewhat difficult to follow everything. In addition to the categories already mentioned, the children and girls danced their hearts out, accompanied by bagpipers who also competed against each other. But the favorites of the almost 4000 spectators were the weightlifting competitions.
The weights increase in the weight training competitions
It started at lunchtime with the long throw of a stone weighing around seven kilograms from the nearby River Aray. Immediately afterwards, a twelve-kilogram weight was thrown. The amount of the load increased with each competition. In the next category, the ball to be thrown weighed more than 25 kilograms. The distance thrown was of course correspondingly shorter. I was therefore somewhat surprised that I was almost banished to the other end of the field by one of the referees.
It turned out to be quite good. There was a lot more action in the hammer throw. A hammer more than 1.20 meters long was thrown across the field by spinning around its own axis. With a weight of only seven kilograms, it flew really far. In order not to lose grip in the damp meadow, the athletes wore special shoes with 15-centimeter-long blades that dug into the ground. They spread tree resin on their hands to prevent the axe from breaking down earlier. After the competition, they had a lot to do to get the resin off again.
And only to get up close and personal with Mother Nature shortly afterwards. The supreme discipline was on the agenda: The tree trunk throwing. The tree trunk has to roll over once and remain on the ground in a twelve o'clock position. It is not important how far the tree trunk is carried. This year's world champion did not take a single step on the last throw. Lifted, thrown - won. The 35-year-old Czech Vlad Tulacek rocked the competition.
My conclusion after almost six hours in the drizzle: It was worth it. The atmosphere is great, the people are relaxed and even try to explain the rules to a newcomer. If you have the opportunity, you should go to an event like this - but don't forget your rain gear.
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Sources:
Information about the Highland Games in general
Own experience during the visit on July 22, 2025
Photos: Ingrid Müller
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