The Burryman

What it is

South Queensferry keeps a ceremony that no other town in Scotland still holds. A man born in the place, and only such a man, is wrapped in burrs from two kinds of burdock, Arctium lappa and A. minus, which grow around the town. The covering reaches from his head to his ankles. So dressed, he walks for nine hours or longer over a route of about seven miles. The custom shares the day of the Ferry Fair but is not part of it. Why the walk began has been forgotten, and people have been guessing ever since.

Origins and history

The town's right to hold the Ferry Fair goes back to 1687, yet most people who have looked into the Burryman think the walk is older than that. Fishing towns elsewhere in Scotland once did something similar. Buckie on the Moray Firth and Fraserburgh held such ceremonies to lift a poor herring season. Only South Queensferry's version survives. Writers have compared it with the Whittlesea Straw Bear, Wren Day disguises in Ireland, the Castleton Garland King and the Jack in the green, and with customs in other parts of Europe. Proposed explanations include driving off evil spirits, an ancient pagan rite, a picture of rebirth and fertility, and a scapegoat or sacrificial figure.

Dress and objects

Gathering the burrs is properly the Burryman's own work, though John Nichol admitted he enlisted his family. It takes around eleven thousand burrs, pressed into some twenty-five flat panels the size of a sheet of paper, holding together like natural Velcro. Binding them on takes about half an hour. Underneath he wears several layers, because the hooks scratch. A balaclava, itself covered in burrs, leaves holes only for his eyes and mouth, and a flower-trimmed bowler hat sits on top. Boots cover his feet, the one part of him left free of burrs. At his waist is a wide sash, at present a folded Royal Standard of Scotland showing its red lion on yellow, though earlier wearers used a Union Flag and recent ones have gone without any flag. Two flower-dressed poles, waist high, take the weight of his arms.

The day itself

He is dressed at the Staghead Hotel, then sets off on foot. His route takes in Villa Road, where a provost once lived, and then the whole town. Every public house on the way expects him. At each he is handed a free whisky through a straw, and residents add more of their own, so that by evening he is worn out. Two attendants in ordinary clothes walk beside him and see him through. The town holds that whisky and money given to him bring a good year, and that dropping the ceremony would bring bad luck instead.

Who takes the part

Only a man born in South Queensferry may take the office, and the same man often keeps it for years. Alan Reid held it for a quarter of a century, giving it up in 1999. John Nicol followed him until 2011. Earlier holders include Sam Corson, John Hart, known as Jacko, and Arne Fredricksen; in 1948 the part went to Judith McPhillips, remembered in the town as the Wee Burry Man. Andrew Taylor has carried it since 2012. The figure has also moved into other art: Daniel Patrick Quinn wrote a folk song about him in 2005, with the local man Duncan Grahl narrating; Catriona McPherson used him in a 2007 crime novel, The Burry Man's Day; and two Doctor Who audio dramas of 2022 take him up.

How The Burryman is kept

Only men born in the town may wear the burrs, and one of them does so each year. On the morning of the fair he is dressed at the Staghead Hotel and steps out with two attendants in ordinary clothes. The route runs some seven miles and can last nine hours or more. It passes the one-time home of a provost on Villa Road, then takes in the whole town and every public house on it. At each pub he is given a whisky through a straw, and residents offer him more as he goes. He ends the day exhausted.

When and where

The ceremony belongs to August's second Friday, when the Ferry Fair reaches its height. Writing in 1976, the folklorist Christina Hole placed it on the day before the fair; the fair's own website now describes it as falling at the close of a week-long fair. Either way, the date is fixed by the fair rather than by the church or the moon.

South Queensferry, on the south bank of the Forth near Edinburgh, is the only place in Scotland where the walk still happens. Similar ceremonies were once held in other fishing towns, among them Buckie on the Moray Firth and Fraserburgh, but those have ended. Beyond Scotland, writers point to customs with something of the same shape: the Whittlesea Straw Bear and the Castleton Garland King in England, and Wren Day disguises in Ireland.

What The Burryman means

No one can explain with certainty what the figure stands for. The meaning has been lost, and the theories are many: a charm against evil spirits, a survival of very old pagan practice, a bringer of fertility and renewal in the manner of the Green Man, or a scapegoat who takes the town's misfortune onto himself. What the town holds to now is simpler. Whisky and coins given to the Burryman are said to secure a good year, and letting the custom lapse is thought to invite bad luck.

Questions people ask about The Burryman

See also

Brigid's crossA cross of woven rushes or straw, made for Saint Brigid's Day on the first of FebruarySt John's EveBonfires, feasting and worship on the short night before John the Baptist's feastSamhainA Gaelic festival marking the start of winter with bonfires and ancestor feastsBonaluAn annual festival of thanksgiving to Goddess Mahakali across Telangana, India

Good reading and sources

• The Burryman on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.