In early September we'll be staying in Edinburgh and then traveling by car to Inverness with stops along the way. Can you suggest where we can experience bagpipe performances?
Posted by
SE US
2353 posts
You'll likely see them on the street around the Royal Mile.
Posted by
Banchory, Scotland
268 posts
Can you give us an idea of dates and places where you will be stopping on the way to Inverness?
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7034 posts
We saw them on the streets in Edinburgh and also at some of the tourist stops like Loch Ness, etc. If you'll be hitting Glasgow, then you can check out the National Piping Center for performances.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6543 posts
Ditto what Mary said. We saw one across the street from St. Giles cathedral when we were there last year. On a previous trip there was one along Princess St.
To my wife and I, like Flamenco in Spain, a little piping goes a long way.
Posted by
OP
22 posts
We'll be in Scotland from August 30th to September 5th, Edinburgh to Inverness.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7034 posts
Do you know what towns you're likely to be staying in or near? On a direct drive route between Edinburgh and Inverness you could most probably find bagpipe performances - either solo pipers or group performances with drums and pipes - in either Pitlochry or Aviemore. And lots of other places too.
If your route will be a little fluid and you're not sure where you'll be staying just google bagpipe perfomances in whatever city or town you'll be in.
Posted by
Banchory, Scotland
268 posts
We'll be in Scotland from August 30th to September 5th, Edinburgh to Inverness.
Would the Birnam Highland Games fit in with your itinerary? You'll hear bagpipes there :-)
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2508 posts
To my wife and I, like Flamenco in Spain, a little piping goes a long way.
🤣
Posted by
London
567 posts
A highland games is definitely the best place to enjoy bagpipes. Can't beat a full band with the pipes and drums. Solo bagpipers at tourist locations can be a bit of a hit or miss... It's quite a difficult instrument to play well, with quite limited range. If you're not skilled at controlling the dissonant elements of the pipes it can get screechy very quickly. When you get a full pipe band it's more like a wall of sound that includes all the dissonance. That's much more pleasing, in my opinion anyway.
Posted by
SoCal
321 posts
I agree completely with the Highland Games recommendation. The games offer a sports, dance and music experience that is unavailable elsewhere. We attended the games in Nairn last summer and found them enchanting. (And found Nairn itself to be beautiful.)