 | ||
The Loony Dook, sponsored by Stoats, is an annual event held on New Years' Day in which people dive into the freezing waters of the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry (north of Edinburgh, Scotland), often in fancy dress.
Contents
The name "Loony Dook" is a combination of "Loony" (short for "lunatic") and "Dook", a Scots term meaning "dip" or "bathe".
History
The event was conceived in 1986 as a joking suggestion by three locals for a New Year's Day hangover cure. The following year it was decided to repeat the event for charity. It has grown to become part of the official Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations. Until 2010 the event was organised by locals and started from the Moorings pub (now the Inchcolm) but from 2011, due to factors such as increased crowds, safety issues and popularity, the event has been handled by the organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay, with the parade now starting from the Hawes Promenade at the other end of the town. A charge is now levied to cover the increased cost of organisation and stewarding.
Up to 2016, two of the original Dookers, James MacKenzie and Ian 'Rambo' Armstrong, have the distinction of taking part in every Loony Dook and the two wore specially designed T shirts with 30yrs to celebrate the achievement.
Edinburgh New Year's Festival
The Stoats Loony Dook is held as part of the overall Edinburgh Hogmanay Festival which attracts over 150,000 people from all over the world. A substantial amount of resolve, stamina and willpower are required for participation in the Loony Dook. The swimmers take to the waters at South Queensferry in the name of charity.
Around 1,500 Dookers take part in the Dookers' Fancy Dress Parade with over 4,000 spectators cheering them on at various vantage points along the route. The Dookers are then warmed with bowls of "energising porridge", prior to plunging themselves into the freezing Firth of Forth.
A proposal to charge people to participate in this event was recently announced, the proceeds of which will benefit RNLI Queensferry.
Other Loony Dooks
The event has inspired similar, though smaller in scale, annual New Year Loony Dooks, such as in North Berwick in East Lothian and Kirkcaldy in Fife, both also on the Firth of Forth.