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The biggest and best known Loony Dook usually takes place in South Queensferry outside Edinburgh, and sees hundreds dash into the cold embrace of the Firth of Forth.
Read more: Loony Dook: Sacred tradition? Hangover cure? Daft idea?
However, as was the case in 2023, this year’s Loony Dook has been cancelled from the official Hogmanay calendar.
Though this will not stop the most determined participants, as an “unofficial” Loony Dook is scheduled to go ahead instead.
What is the Loony Dook? History of New Year tradition
Legend goes that the first Loony Dook happened in South Queensferry on January 1, 1987 when locals jokingly suggested taking a dip as a Hogmanay hangover cure.
The name comes from the abbreviation for “lunatic” and the Scots word dook, which means bathe.
Gradually the event grew in popularity in the 1990s, becoming part of the official Hogmanay calendar and broadcast live on the BBC at the turn of the millennium in 2000.
Read more: Edinburgh Hogmanay 2023 road closures, full list
But the event was criticised in recent years for becoming too commercialised. Organisers introduced a fee of £6 for people to take part in 2011, with proceeds to go to the RNLI and local charities.
This was raised to £10 in 2016 and £12 in 2020, which was called a “damned disgrace” by the event’s original founders.
The Loony Dook was cancelled in January 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid pandemic and in January 2023 for health and safety reasons.
At its height, the event attracted around 1,000 dookers and thousands of spectators.
When and where is the Loony Dook 2024?
The Loony Dook usually takes place every year on January 1 as part of a New Year’s Day tradition.
Though dooks are held across Scotland, the main event happens in South Queensferry.
The official Loony Dook has been cancelled for January 1, 2024, though an “unofficial” event will still take place at around 2pm from the Boathouse steps.
Alternative Loony Dooks in Scotland
Inspired by the South Queensferry tradition, Loony Dooks have sprung up in coastal communities across Scotland.
Similar events have been held on January 1 in St Andrews, Cockenzie, Dalgety Bay, Dunbar, Helensburgh, Kirkcaldy, North Berwick, and Portobello.
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Portobello Loony Dook will see crowds gathering on the beach at around 1pm
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Kirkcaldy Loony Dook takes place at 12pm at Kirkcaldy Promenade, with funds raised for local charities and the rugby club
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St Andrews Loony Dook is being held at 10am from East Sands car park with the North Sea expected to be a “toasty nine degrees”
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Kinghorn Loony Dook is going ahead at Kinghorn Beach from 11am, organised by the local RNLI with dookers told to register before the event
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Broughty Ferry Loony Dook is held from 2.45pm, with tickets at £10 per adult
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Dunbar Loony Dook will take place at Belhaven Bay from 12pm on January 1, weather permitting, with participants meeting at the picnic bench by the surf centre
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