Events in Scotland in 2025

Every year there are plenty of reasons to visit Scotland including the great outdoors with its inspiring landscapes, our unique history dating back thousands of years, amazing local food and drink, spectacular sporting events, as well as art and cultural activities. All this comes with the warmest of welcomes which you can experience in our cities and villages when staying with Scotland's Best B&Bs.

Whether your dream holiday is sightseeing around castles and cathedrals or standing stones and whisky distilleries, there is something of interest for everyone. Scotland has plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities such as walking, mountain biking, cycling, golf, fishing, horse riding, watersports, snowsports and much more. As well as unspoilt mountains, magnificent forests, lochs and miles of varied coastline, there's much for nature lovers to enjoy on the lookout to spot puffins, eagles, dolphins, whales, deer and other amazing wildlife. To learn more, check out the Things to do pages on our website.

For 2025, we've picked some of the events which might inspire you to plan a seasonal break.        
Special events in Scotland in 2025 include The Tall Ships Races in Aberdeen which will bring a unique maritime spectacle to the Granite City.        
The Highland capital is getting ready for the opening of the Inverness Castle Experience which will soon become the must-see visitor attraction in the city with its brand new interactive exhibitions inspired by stories from across the Highlands, as well as its Ceilidh Rooms showcasing local music, food and drink, and all with amazing views across the River Ness.        
Glasgow will be celebrating its 850th birthday this year with a varied programme of events to spotlight the city's history, culture and people.

Events - January and February

With darker skies in winter you might just see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) which should be more frequently visible in 2025 due to the peak in the Sun's 11-year cycle. The season for skiing and other snowsports depends on the weather and the amount of snow, but can get started in January or February at Glencoe Mountain Resort, the Nevis Range, Cairngorm Mountain, Glenshee and the Lecht.

• Snowdrop Festival (end January – mid March)
• Burns' Night is always celebrated on 25 January when we remember the national bard of Scotland with Burns Suppers of haggis, neeps and tatties, plus a dram or two of whisky.
• SPECTRA is Aberdeen's Festival of Light (6 - 9 February 2025) which cleverly illuminates the buildings of the Granite city, while Granite Noir (20 - 23 February 2025) is Aberdeen's crime fiction festival.
• In Perthshire, the Winter Words literary festival takes place at Pitlochry Festival Theatre (21 - 23 February 2025) celebrating its 21st anniversary.
• The Inverness and Loch Ness Food and Drink Fortnight (22 February - 9 March 2025) has lots of special offers and events including the Highland Shortbread Showdown in Inverness on 22 February, followed by the Grand Final on 8 March 2025.

Spring can be the ideal time to visit as the days start to lengthen and nature comes back to life. Gardens and trees are very vibrant at this time of year, and it's too early for the dreaded midgies. In Moray, you can enjoy magnificent displays in the gardens and woods at Brodie Castle which has over 100 types of daffodil. Most of the main visitor attractions such as castles and distilleries will be open daily from Easter onwards throughout the spring and summer months.

Cawdor Castle in the Highlands - photo by Home Farm Bed and Breakfast

Events - March and April

• The World Wheelchair Curling Championship will take place in Stevenston in North Ayrshire (1 - 8 March 2025) followed by the World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship (11 – 16 March 2025).
• Murrayfield will host matches of the men's Six Nations Rugby from 1 February to 8 March 2025 while the women's matches will be at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium from 22 March to 26 April 2025.
• The Kingdom of Fife has its Whisky Festival (28 February - 2 March 2025) and the Fife Food & Drink Week (8 - 16 March 2025). St Andrews hosts the StAnza: Scotland's International Poetry Festival (14 - 16 March 2025) as well as the annual Cocktail Week (14 - 23 March 2025)!
• Each year there is a service of commemoration at Culloden Battlefield near Inverness around the anniversary of the 1746 Jacobite defeat  (19 April 2025) , while later in the month the epic Etape Loch Ness cycle race is a challenge for hundreds of riders (27 April 2005).
• The Scottish Grand National at Ayr Racecourse (12 April 2025) is a big event on the horse racing calendar.

Cowal Highland Gathering in Arygyll - photo copyright VisitScotland / Kenny Lam

Events - May and June

The Highland Games season starts in May and runs until September in dozens of locations across the country. We have longer hours of daylight in May and June so it's a great opportunity for packing in extra time to do all the sightseeing you want.

• The Common Ridings provide an epic spectacle. These colourful equestrian festivals held every year from June to August in 11 towns of the Scottish Borders to celebrate the history of the Borders Reivers.
• The Spirit of Speyside whisky festival (30 April - 5 May 2025) features tours, tastings and special events in dozens of distilleries around Moray and Aberdeenshire
• Historic Cromarty in the Highlands is home to the annual Crime & Thriller Festival from 2 - 4 May 2025.
• Hundreds of cyclists take to the roads for the Marie Curie Etape Caledonia (11 May 2025) around Pitlochry in Perthshire.
• The Highland Gathering and Atholl Highlanders' Parade (24 - 25 May 2025) at Blair Castle in Perthshire is a sight not to be missed if you want to spot men in kilts!
• Scotland's main annual agricultural show, The Royal Highland Show (19 - 22 June 2025) at Ingliston near Edinburgh, is one of the country's biggest events.
• The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival (28 - 29 June 2025) in picturesque Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, is always a colourful celebration of our maritime heritage.

Edinburgh Military Tattoo - photo by Arden Country House B&B near Linlithgow

Events - July and August

The Highland Games are in full swing every weekend throughout the summer months. For more kilts, check out the European Pipe Band Championships on 9 August 2025 in Perth or the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow (15 - 16 August 2025). Late July to September is often the best time to see purple heather flowering on the hills but watch out for the midgies!

• If you like the great outdoors, then the Scottish Game Fair (4 - 6 July 2025) is a popular event in the grounds of Scone Palace (Perthshire).
• The Scottish Transport Extravaganza with its Vintage Vehicle Rally (12 - 13 July 2025) is a unique event held at Glamis Castle for nearly 50 years.
• The 20th International Island Games will take place in Orkney from 12 - 18 July 2025 with athletes from around the world competing in 12 exciting sports.
• Golf fans can see The Genesis Scottish Open (9 - 13 July 2025) at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, East Lothian while The Women's Scottish Open (24 - 27 July 2025) will be held at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire.
• August sees the ever popular Edinburgh Military Tattoo (1 - 23 August 2025), Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival (1 - 25 August 2025).

Scottish Transport Extravaganza at Glamis Castle - photo by Newton Farm Holidays in Angus

Events - September and October

Autumn is a beautiful time for exploring nature especially if you enjoy seeing colourful displays of leaves. From mid September to November, the forests of Scotland become picture postcards. Perthshire is known as 'Big Tree Country' and it's spectacularly colourful in autumn, but don't overlook the Scottish Borders, Central Scotland, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands which also have some superb areas of forest. Throughout September you can often get access to hundreds of fascinating buildings across Scotland which participate in the Doors Open Days programme.

Autumn at The Hermitage in Perthshire - photo by Northlands B&B in Pitlochry

• Every year the Nairn Book and Arts Festival (31 August - 7 September 2025) puts on a huge programme of events with a variety of top authors.
• Celebrating Scotland's seafood, the Stranraer Oyster Festival takes place from 12 - 14 September 2025.
• The year's biggest shinty match - the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup Final takes place in Inverness on 20 September 2025.
• Marathons don't get much more dramatic than the Loch Ness Marathon (28 September 2025), but you can also enter for The Dramathon (18 October 2025) if you can manage to get from one Speyside distillery to the next!
• Not to be missed is the annual World Porridge Making Championship (4 October 2025) in Carrbridge in the heart of the Cairngorms.
• The Enchanted Forest (2 October - 3 November 2025) is Scotland's premier light and sound event set in the autumnal splendour of Faskally Wood near Pitlochry, Perthshire.
• Gaelic is celebrated in competitions every autumn at the Royal National Mod which Lochaber will be hosting from 10 to 18 October 2025.

Aberdeen Christmas market

Events - November & December

A variety of winter illumination events at unique venues including Edinburgh Castle, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Brodie Castle in Moray take place every year.        
There are many local Christmas markets and craft fairs as well as larger events in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.        
You can enjoy some fiery sunsets at this time of the year and cosy nights by a log fire. Winter is a quieter time for tourists so it's worth checking for off season rates and special offers.        
At the end of the year, we celebrate at Hogmanay to see in the New Year with a few drams. We're expecting Hogmanay parties will be in full swing in Edinburgh and Inverness to see out 2025 and see in 2026!

Check out our 2025 Events pages which include Highland Games - Food & Drink Festivals - Car Shows - Book Festivals - Farmers Markets

It's always a good time to visit Scotland whatever time of year you choose        
so why not book your B&B now?!

Eilean Donan Castle - photo by Spean Lodge B&B in the Highlands