One of these is, for example, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a rich international showcase that, in August, for about three weeks, fills streets and squares with all kinds of performances: music, singer-songwriter, mime, dance. More formal and reserved is the Edinburgh International Festival, which around the same period offers the best of opera, classical music, and ballet. Unmissable, always in Edinburgh and always in August, is also the Military Tattoo, the colorful festival of the military bands of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, marching and performing in front of the castle under the eyes of an attentive and curious crowd.
Another must-see is the Braemar Gathering at the beginning of September in Braemar, a town close to Balmoral Castle, which keeps alive the ancient tradition of the Highland games, where representatives of the Scottish clans participate, competing in unique sports such as the tossing of a 6-meter pine trunk (which must land vertically after a 180-degree spin), tug of war, stone throwing, hammer throwing, or throwing a hay-filled sack using a three-pronged pitchfork.
