Venue
Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony guide
Swinging fireballs down to the harbour.
In short
Travellers in Aberdeenshire for Hogmanay can watch about 40 locals march along Stonehaven's High Street from the first stroke of midnight on 31 December, swinging homemade fireballs before hurling them into the harbour. It suits those happy to stand in a cold crowd for a short, fiery tradition, so arrive early.
On the first stroke of midnight each Hogmanay, about 40 local men and women march along Stonehaven's High Street swinging balls of fire around their heads on chains. Twenty minutes or so later they hurl the burning balls into the harbour, and this small Aberdeenshire town has seen in the New Year in its own fashion.
Nobody can say for certain how the custom began. Written reports go back to 1911, and the procession has stopped only for the two world wars and once more in 2021, during the pandemic. Each fireball is homemade: waste material bound into a ball and fixed to a chain and handle.
What sets it apart from the big city parties is scale. It is one street, one harbour and one short burst of fire, watched at arm's length, and then the whole town turns to its neighbours.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Where: Stonehaven, United Kingdom
Venue: High Street
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Winter Festivals, Parade
Currency: Pound sterling (GBP, £)
Time zone: Greenwich Mean Time, UTC+0 (UTC+1 in summer)
Language: English
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Warm, waterproof clothing for the harbour wait
Most of the night is spent standing still in the open beside the sea, often in wind and rain, waiting for midnight. Wear thermal layers under a waterproof shell, with a hat, gloves and boots that grip on wet stone near the slipway.
Keep your bag small and a hand free, because the street packs tight against the barriers. Natural fabrics are a safer choice than nylon this close to open flame, and long hair is best tucked under a hat. Bring a little cash or a card-ready phone for the donation on the way in, and charge your phone fully if you plan to film the procession.
Following stewards and staying behind barriers
Watch from behind the barriers and do what the stewards ask. The fireballs pass close on their chains, so never lean out for a better photo or let children duck under the rail.
- The street stops admitting people once it is full, and it closes completely at 23:40 even on a quiet year.
- Once in, you cannot easily come back if you leave, so sort food and toilets first.
- Small children see best from the front row, held firmly, or from a pair of shoulders.
- Agree a meeting point with your group in case you are separated in the crush after the fireworks.
Donations, parking and the viewing area
There is no entry charge. The Stonehaven Fireballs Association pays for the night from donations, collected as you walk in and online, so a contribution is the polite thing to do.
If you drive, park legally: double yellow lines apply in parts of the centre, and residents and shopkeepers have a long night of their own.
Visitors who need step-free or protected viewing can use an area on the High Street near the King Street junction. Contact the Association before the night or tell a steward when you arrive and you will be escorted there. In a busy year each person may be allowed only one companion inside it, with the rest of the party just beyond the barriers.
Where and how it is celebrated
The main cities where the festival is celebrated.
The High Street
What happens on the day
- Late evening
The High Street fills
The places along the barriers near the Shorehead go first, because that is where the fire starts. Stewards close the street once it is full.
- Just before midnight
Lighting up
The swingers light their fireballs at the top of the harbour slipway.
- Midnight
The procession
On the first stroke of the bells they set off up the High Street and back.
- After the procession
Into the harbour
What is left of the fireballs is pitched into the water, and fireworks from the cliffs on the south side light up the bay.
Booking accommodation and planning the evening
Plan the evening around the High Street, not a restaurant table. Eat early, then walk down to the old town with time to spare. A spare day helps too. Dunnottar Castle stands about 2 miles south, reached by a clifftop path that starts at the harbour, and the walk makes a good cure for a short night. If the fireballs are one stop on a longer winter trip, plan the rest of it from our Scotland page.
Stonehaven's old town, harbour and the fireball tradition
The fireballs belong to the auld toon, the old quarter packed around the harbour. The harbour has two basins, improved by the engineer Robert Stevenson in the 1820s, and through the 19th century it lived on herring. On the north quay the red sandstone Tolbooth, a 16th-century building that served as courthouse and prison, now holds a small free museum. Walk the quay in daylight on the 31st. At midnight you will know the slipway, the Shorehead and the cannon at the top of the street, and the route will make sense.
For the town this is a greeting more than a performance. The swingers are local men and women, and the point is to see friends and neighbours into the year with as much heat and light as a chain and a ball of burning waste can give. The herring fleet is history, but the harbour still lands fish, and the boats tied up there make the backdrop for the final throw.
There are no food stalls worth planning around, so eat in town. Carron Fish Bar, beside the main bus stop on Barclay Street, claims to have invented the deep-fried Mars bar in 1992. A fish supper there before the crowds build is about as local as a Hogmanay dinner gets.
Getting there
From Aberdeen Airport
The airport is at Dyce. The Jet 727 bus runs around the clock to Aberdeen's main bus and rail station, and a handful of journeys continue to Stonehaven.
By train
Stonehaven is on the Dundee to Aberdeen line, served by ScotRail, LNER, CrossCountry and the hourly Aberdeen Crossrail. Trains run hourly from Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street, about two hours. The Caledonian Sleeper from London Euston (Sunday to Friday) arrives around 7:15am.
By bus
Stagecoach route 8 runs hourly by day from Union Square in Aberdeen, about an hour, to Barclay Street, one block from Market Square.
From the station
Allow for a mile's walk east into town.
Where to stay during the festival
Stonehaven had 11,177 residents at the last census, and only so many rooms. Book as soon as you decide. The handiest beds are around the harbour and waterfront, a short walk from the Shorehead; the town centre around Market Square is next best.
Many visitors stay in Aberdeen, 15 miles north, where the choice is far wider, but only if the ride home is settled before you leave: the organisers run no transport.
Weather and what to pack
Hogmanay on the north-east coast is cold, dark and often windy. Aberdeen averages a December high of about 7°C and a low near 1°C, and a wait of two hours on the High Street feels colder with the wind off the sea.
Worth packing
- Warm, windproof layers
- A hat and gloves
- Waterproof boots
- Something hot to drink before you take your place
Car hire in Stonehaven
Airport transfer to Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony
Met at arrivals at Edinburgh Airport (EDI) and driven door to door to High Street.
- Edinburgh Airport (EDI) → High Street
- 171 km · 2 hr 5 min
Restaurants and food in United Kingdom
Places to eat in United Kingdom before or after the celebrations.
Magpie Café
14 Pier Road, Whitby YO21 3PU, United Kingdom
Cuisine:SeafoodFish and chips
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Ubiquitous Chip
12 Ashton Lane, Glasgow G12 8SJ, United Kingdom
Cuisine:ScottishModern British
- Dine-in
- Bar
The Kitchin
78 Commercial Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6LX, United Kingdom
Cuisine:Modern ScottishSeasonal
- Dine-in
Dishoom Covent Garden
12 Upper St Martin's Lane, London WC2H 9FB, United Kingdom
Cuisine:IndianBombay café
- Dine-in
- Bar
- Outdoor seating
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
Yes. The ceremony is free and unticketed. Volunteers collect donations at the entrances, and that money, plus online gifts through the Association's donation page, covers the cost of running the night.
Possibly, but it is a gamble. Entry stops as soon as the street reaches capacity, which can happen after 23:00, and the gates always shut at 23:40.
Into Stonehaven harbour. The swingers start and finish at the Shorehead, at the top of the harbour slipway, so spectators near that end of the High Street see the final throw best.
It is a homemade ball of waste material, set alight and swung on a chain fixed to a handle. Each swinger prepares their own before the night.
The years of both world wars, and 2021, when COVID-19 restrictions stopped large gatherings. Otherwise it has gone ahead every New Year's Eve.
Around 40 local men and women, all townspeople. Each one swings a fireball of their own making through the old town.
Stagecoach's X7 is the night bus between Aberdeen and Stonehaven, and the Jet 727 makes occasional runs too. The organisers arrange nothing, so check the Hogmanay timetable or book a taxi well before the night.
Use the car parks at Market Square, the leisure centre or the community centre, or on-street spaces away from double yellow lines. Leave enough time to walk down to the old town.
Yes. The Association posts a recorded film of the ceremony on its website, which gives a fair idea of the noise and of how close the flames come to the crowd.
Getting there
Its origin is uncertain, but written accounts of the fireballs date from 1911. Beyond that date, nobody has pinned down who swung the first one.
Families & accessibility
From a dedicated area on the High Street near the King Street junction. Let the organisers know in advance, or find a steward on arrival who will take you there.