Men In Kilts – Episode 2 Review

Episode 2 of Men in Kilts covers Scottish Sport and luckily, that’s an area this Man in a Kilt has plenty of experience in. We love sport in Scotland and even though we’re a small nation, we tend to punch well above our weight. This isn’t really a TV review of Men in Kilts Episode 2, this is more of an analysis by a true Scotsman. I’ll be explaining the real Scottish stories behind the sports that Sam and Graham take part in.

If you missed the first Episode review then you can find it here!

The premise of the episode is that Sam and Graham are going to compete in different sports for points. Whoever loses has to skinny dip in the Atlantic Ocean. Everybody knows Scotland can get a bit chilly but don’t be fooled, this is actually a favourite activity of Molly and I!

Surfing

It doesn’t go into a lot of detail but this episode of Men in Kilts starts with some light surfing which you might think is bizarre. It might not be as warm as Byron Bay or Bali but you do get some excellent surf in Scotland. Wetsuits are almost always required. Dunbar to the East of Edinburgh has a great surf school and Thurso in the far north has even held its share of international competitions.

Shinty

Shinty is a much more traditional Scottish sport although mostly around the Highlands and Islands and not seen very often in the Lowland area. You might recognise the sport from Outlander scenes of our Men in Kilts knocking lumps out of each other. Yes, it really can be that brutal. If rugby makes football look soft then shinty makes rugby look like a walk in the park.

There are 12 players on each side, and the aim is to get the ball into a goal using a stick called a caman. With the ball flying around at eye level, if you’re not aware of your surroundings then you’re likely to get a stick to the face and finish the game short a few teeth.

The game is part of the shared Gaelic heritage that we have with Ireland. Hitting a ball with a stick has probably been around for thousands of years but nobody knows exactly when it developed into this. We have shinty and across the Irish Sea they have hurling and camogie, similar games with a few differences. These brutal sports were the perfect way to train warriors, keep fit and develop teamwork.

When the Scots and Irish emigrated to Canada, the game was played on frozen lakes in winter and that’s how Ice Hockey was born.

Lifting Stones

There is a long history of lifting stones in Scotland as I’m sure there is around the world. If you leave anything heavy around for any length of time, a Scotsman is going to try and lift it to show off. Sadly, traditional stones like these aren’t attempted by many regular Scots on the weekend though. Most stick to suitcases or overfull shopping bags.

The stone that the Men in Kilts attempt in the show is near Balquhidder (the burial site of Rob Roy MacGregor) and called the Puterach. I didn’t manage to find too much out about the name but the heritage here is genuine. It’s believed to have been a stone for Macgregor clansmen to prove their strength with. The original stone was removed by orders of the local minister in the mid 19th century but the plinth remained.

The new owners of the land sourced a local replacement around 10 years ago. Now anybody is welcome to step up and try to lift the almost 100kg stone. Graham very sensibly gives up rather than put his back out while Sam succeeds, gaining himself the first point of the challenge.

The only other lifting stones I have personally come across are the Dinnie Stanes at Potarch Bridge. The combined weight is about 332kg and they were originally used to secure scaffolding for working on the bridge. Then in 1860, while Donald Dinnie was working on the bridge, he decided to prove how strong he was and carried the stones the width of the bridge, around 17 feet.

Donald went on to become a world famous strongman and the 19th centuries greatest athlete. Only a handful of people have ever matched Donald’s feat. Today, the stones sit in front of the Potarch Inn and you need to arrange it with them before any attempt.

This isn’t for the faint hearted or weak limbed. The first challenge is just getting air between the stones and the ground. For true competitors, you must farmers walk with the stones the same distance that Donald did all those years ago. I think we can forgive the Men in Kilts for not embarrassing themselves for the sake of good TV.

Highland Games

Next stop for our Men in Kilts is Braemar and the Highland Games. If you’ve never experienced a Highland Games, then you’re truly missing out. Races, tug of war, lifting, throwing, wrestling and of course, tossing the caber.

It’s more than just a sporting competition, it’s a celebration of Scottish culture and identity. Pipe bands, sword dancing, plenty of food and drink then all topped off with a ceilidh at the end. Sam and Graham only attempt one event and it’s one of the trickiest of the lot. Things are tight by Graham just edges Sam on the distance. The hammer throw isn’t easy and I would be more likely to dislocate my shoulder than break any records.

Braemar is regarded as the home of the Highland Games and its story goes back to the 11th century. After Malcolm Canmore built Kindrochit Castle, he celebrated with a competition. To discover who the fastest clansmen were, the King of Scots challenged them to run up the Creag Chòinnich and back.

Highland Games don’t just take place in the Highlands. In fact, while Braemar might have been the first recorded games, it was only restarted in the 19th century. Ceres in Fife claims to be the oldest continuous running games. In 1314, after the Battle of Bannockburn, the men of Ceres were granted the right to hold celebration games by Robert the Bruce. The games took place in the same village green that they do today, marked by the monument below.

Golf

Scotland, and more specifically St Andrews, is the home of golf. Nobody can say exactly when or how the game of golf was invented. The oldest reference we have to a golf course though is St Andrews, exactly where the Old Course stands today. Musselburgh can feel hard done by as it claimed this title until a charter from 1552 was discovered allowing the Archbishop of St Andrews to breed rabbits on the golf course.

The Old Course is the heart of St Andrews and a place of pilgrimage for many golf fans. A picture on the Swilcan Bridge is something that every golfer needs in their trophy cabinet. Thankfully we don’t have to watch the Men in Kilts through an entire round of golf, just attempt their longest drive. Graham wins this round although I’ll admit both drives are much better than my attempts at golf. It turns out strength is less important as skill when it comes to this sport.

St Andrews isn’t just home to a historic golf course, it has also developed some iconic golfing characters. The 19th century father-son duo of Old and Young Tom Morris will forever be remembered in the world of Golf. The older Tom was an open champion but became eclipsed by his son’s incredible talent. Old Tom still holds the record for the oldest winner while Young Tom has the record for the youngest.

Unfortunately, Young Tom’s career was short lived and he died on Christmas Day at the age of 24. Old Tom outlived all of his children, becoming a wise old man who worked until the day he died. The family were all buried by St Andrews Cathedral where you can’t miss the monument to Young Tom.

Rugby

Now this is a sport I know something about! I’ve played rugby since I was 12 years old after being told I was a little too vigorous for football. This was definitely the game for me and I went on to win a number of Scottish cups. The highlight was my final school year, winning all three Scottish Cups with the finals played on the main pitch at Murrayfield. I can only dream about how fit I was back then but the memory of scoring a hat-trick at the home of Scottish Rugby will never leave me.

Murrayfield is exactly the place that our competitive Men in Kilts are headed. It’s a special place and there is no better sound than most of 67,000 people singing Flower of Scotland together. The old saying that football is a gentleman’s game played by thugs while rugby is a thug’s game played by gentleman is true. Nothing but respect is shown on the pitch. After 80 minutes of knocking lumps out of each other, everybody shakes hands and sits down for a pint.

When it comes to international sport, Scotland as a nation really gets behind the rugby team. People who usually have no interest in sport pack the stadium and almost every pub to watch. If you want to experience that for yourself then visit during February/March on a Six Nations weekend. It’s a game for all shapes and sizes and all walks of life. The fact that we are usually in the top 8 teams in the world probably helps.

To finish off the Men in Kilts Episode 2 competition, Graham wins the rugby challenge which means that most viewers probably get what they wished for. Sam Heughan running into the sea – stark naked.

Now you’ve finished Men in Kilts Episode 2, why not read about Episode 3 here?

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