Hundreds of swimmers brave freezing Forth for annual Loony Dook

Money raised goes to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and other local charities.

PA Media

1st Jan 2024

Posted in

Charity

Hardy swimmers once again welcomed in the new year by braving the waters of the Firth of Forth as part of the annual Loony Dook.

Hundreds of people gathered to take part in the annual New Year’s Day tradition in South Queensferry.

The dook, a Scots word meaning to dip or bathe, started in 1986 after friends Andy Kerr and Jim Kilcullen went for a swim in the icy waters to stave off their hangover from the night before.

But the following year, they decided to repeat the event for charity.

Money raised goes to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and other local charities.

The event was known locally, but in the 1990s it grew in popularity after it was mentioned in the official Edinburgh Hogmanay programme of events.

Due to the popularity of the event, where dookers don fancy dress and parade down South Queensferry High Street before making their way to the shore, it was organised professionally from 2009.

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

But this year, there is no professional organisation and locals took matters back into their own hands.

Dookers gathered at the Boathouse Stair on the High Street from 2pm on New Year’s Day – many of them wearing fancy dress.

They then made their way down to the shore before braving the freezing waters and then making their way back to a local pub to continue the festivities.

Elsewhere, swimmers took part in a Loony Dook in Kinghorn, Fife.