| Where: | Kilwinning, Ayrshire at the Abbey and Drummond Castle at Muthill in Perthshire |
| When: | Weekends in August at Kilwinning & mid August at Drummond Castle (formerly Kilwinning often in June but now usually both in August) |
| Time: | Kilwinning from 10 am; Drummond Castle 2pm- 4pm |
The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers is one of the longest established sporting organisations in the country , and the only one in the UK to continue the art of shooting at the Papingo. A Papingo is a painted wooden pigeon, set on a perch at the top of a tower for archers to aim at from directly below, using a longbow and skills that would be particularly useful during times of siege warfare. The Society formed in the fifteenth century and has written records going back several hundred years, and each competition has a unique coveted Silver Arrow as the prize. When the competitors are on their home turf at Kilwinning, the winner is the very first archer to hit the Papingo on the 112 foot tower- so the competition may be very short! As Drummond Castle is a long way from Kilwinning, the competition there has a different scoring system- all the archers have an equal number of shots at their target on the 80 foot Castle tower within a time frame of two hours, and the winner is the one who hits the Papingo most frequently; in the event of a tie, the winner is the first competitor who scored the winning number of shots. The Drummond Castle tradition began in 2016, whereas the Kilwinning event goes back to the fifteenth century and the formation of the Society. The club comprises around 60 members of all ages and experience, and hosts a number of other competitions through the season. While the Papingo competition is fiercely contested, the atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed.
Helpful Hints
In 2023 the Kilwinning Papingo Shoot was on Sunday 13th -in 2024 the Kilwinning shoot was cancelled due to ongoing repairs at the venue and Drummond Castle was on Saturday 24th August. 2025 dates are yet to be announced.
Watch out for falling arrows!
The Society members are very welcoming and happy to share their knowledge of the sport with spectators, and if you’re lucky you may be offered a chance to have a go yourself! More on the history of the club and the event can be found in the informative and entertaining book “The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers: A History of the Society” by President Stuart Wilson.
Spectators must pay admission fees to the Gardens at Drummond Castle (£10 in 2021) which are amongst the finest in the country with a spectacular parterre and topiary.
Thanks to Secretary Jim Bilby for all the helpful information!
The photos are from 2021 Drummond Castle Papingo.
Click here for the Archers’ website: https://kilwinningarchers.net
Click here for Drummond Castle’s website: https://www.drummondcastlegardens.co.ukh
and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/drummondcastlegardens
Hi Jim,
what date is your shoot this year? 2023
regards Paul
Hi Paul,
Your message came through to claendarcustoms.com rather than to the Archers direct, but it prompted me to ask Jim for this year’s date so thanks for that!
The Kilwinning papingo shoot is on Sunday 13th August, with Drummond Castle on Saturday 19th August,
Best wishes,
Averil