Whuppity Scoorie: the Scottish spring ritual bringing a town together

2026-03-04 - 06:13

Children racing round a church tower at Lanark Cross reflects a renewed sense of community and folklore in unsettled times The evening light is thinning at Lanark Cross and there is a hush. Then the wee bell in St Nicholas’s church tower, which has lain silent since last autumn, starts up its six o’clock chimes. The waiting crowd of children explodes into movement and noise. About a hundred youngsters, helped by grownups, then make three laps clockwise around the church, swinging homemade balls of paper on string above their heads as they run. Continue reading...