| Where: | Queensferry, Lothian - starting & ending at The Stags Head on the High Street |
| When: | 2nd Friday in August |
| Time: | From 8.45 -all day |
There is no-one else like the Burry Man – a man encased completely in a costume composed of thousands of burdock heads, wearing a flowery bowler hat. He has two attendants who help him through the long day, and uses staves to support his arms and stop them sticking to his body. He walks the streets of the town for hours, covering about 7 miles in what is believed to be a luck-bringing custom. Whisky is regularly offered to him on his rounds (also for luck) and because his face is also covered with burrs attached to a knitted balaclava, he drinks it through a straw.
The Burry man is associated with the local Ferry Fair which takes place the following day with parades, concerts, fancy dress, bands and the crowning of the Ferry Queen. Depending on the season apparently it can be challenging finding enough burrs – luckily sufficient are always found to preserve the Burry Man’s modesty!
Helpful Hints
In 2025 the Burry Man will be out-and-about on Friday 8th August- check the Facebook link for all the details near the time.
Click here for the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theburryman/
Click here to find out more including the route with approximate timings : http://www.ferryfair.co.uk/
Many thanks to Geoff Doel for providing the 3 photos of 2012!
A great day and lovely people. If you miss the early start as we did (bus took longer to get there than we had hoped) difficult to find. You need to go back up the top of the hill and left onto the housing States and seek him up there. If all else fails he arrives in town at about 2.00 but then you have missed the bulk of it and it seems to become a massive photo opportunity with hoards of photographers getting in the way. ‘Hip Hip Hooray its The Burry Man today’