Loony Dookers welcome the New Year with icy plunge

Hundreds of swimmers celebrated the New Year with a freezing cold plunge into the Firth of Forth in South Queensferry for the annual Loony Dook.

The dook, a Scots word meaning to dip or plunge, began on 1 January 1987 when a group of friends went for a swim in the icy water as a hangover cure.

The central belt was hit with snow shortly before this year's event began at 13:30 but the chilly temperatures did not deter the dookers.

Participants wore fancy dress and paraded down South Queensferry High Street before taking the plunge.

They came dressed as Irn-Bru cans, chickens, cheerleaders and various movie characters.

One dooker was wrapped in bubble wrap and many others wore onesies, tutus and glitter boas.

The event was organised professionally as part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations after 2009 but later faced accusations of commercialisation,

The dook pre-dates the Hogmanay festival, which was launched in 1993-4, but later became part of the official programme.

In later years people were charged to take part to help meet running costs, including road closures, health and safety measures, police and stewarding.

In 2011, a registration fee was introduced which rose to £20 in 2020. It was branded a "disgrace" by the original founders.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw the dook cancelled from Edinburgh's official programme of events.

It was dropped from the programme in 2022 but organisers said swimmers could still attend community events.

This year there was no fee or registration required to take part and the event was run by locals.

Hogmanay festivities were muted in many parts of the country this year due to weather concerns, with Edinburgh's world famous outdoor celebrations scrapped on Monday.

Unique Assembly runs the three-day festival on behalf of Edinburgh Council.

It told BBC Scotland news that cancelling the street party, concert and fireworks display was the right decision.

Organisers said the high winds prevented them from building the infrastructure needed to cope with more than 50,000 revellers who were expected to attend.

The festival director Al Thomson said "the damage had already been done" by being unable to prepare, despite conditions improving in the run up to the bells.

He said the company was in discussions with insurers about the cancellation and that customers were being notified about refunds.

However, some firework displays still went ahead around the country and many hospitality venues said they hosted a successful night out.

Signature Group which has 21 venues across Scotland, including 11 pubs and venues in Edinburgh, said it went surprisingly well.

Sales and marketing director Louise Maclean said that the cancellation of the Edinburgh Hogmanay event meant they were busier than usual and surpassed targets for the night.

"We were worried the weather might have kept people at home but everyone came out," she said.

"Our venues with live music did the best - people were obviously looking for a party.

"The majority would have been tourists and we're enormously grateful for Edinburgh's reputation as a Hogmanay city.

"We definitely benefitted from the poor weather meaning everyone had to go inside."

After her set at the Edinburgh Hogmanay street party was cancelled, BBC Radio 1 DJ Arielle Free took matters into her own hands and entertained a house party in Glasgow.

Free, 36, who hosts Radio 1's Rave-Up show, was due to play at the Party Stage on Waverley Bridge.

She posted on her socials that she was "quite upset" before someone on X, formerly Twitter, asked if anyone had booked her for a house party instead.

"I ended up at a girl's (house) called Lisa, who'd asked me to come play her house party in Glasgow," she said.

"So I played there, the decks were on the hobs in the kitchen, and then came home, feet knackered from all the dancing and heart full of joy. It ended up being a brilliant night.

"It really felt like going back to where it all began for me."