The Burryman Day!

The Burryman is the central figure in an annual ceremony or ritual, the Burryman's Parade, that takes place in the town of South Queensferry, on the second Friday of August.

The custom is associated with, but separate from, the town's Ferry Fair. On the Friday morning of the fair, a local man is covered from head to ankles in burrs (the sticky flowerheads or seedheads of two species of burdock, (Arctium lappa and A. minus) that grow locally, and walked through the town for over nine hours. The meaning of this ceremony has long been forgotten, but it has been the cause of much speculation. 

The Burryman walks a seven-mile route through South Queensferry for nine hours or more, starting at the Staghead Hotel where he is dressed in the burrs. The first stop is the former Provost's house at Villa Road then he parades round the town including visits to every public house, at each of which the Burryman is given a free drink of whisky through a straw. Local residents also give the Burryman whisky so by the end of the day he is exhausted. Tradition holds that he will bring good luck to the town if they give him whisky and money, and that bad luck will result if the custom is discontinued.

The route and timings can be found in the 2022 Ferry Fair Programme.