Edinburgh Tartan Parade 2025
Scotland is rich in culture, and almost every Scottish city and town provides multiple opportunities to amerce yourself in everything Scotland has to offer. Edinburgh is the city capital & is home to some of the biggest Scottish festivals, events and more. Gaining attraction from tourists globally and from the Scottish locals.
Many visitors to Scotland want to get the full Scottish experience. 2025 is going to be the best year yet for the Scottish culture experience as Edinburgh is hosting the Edinburgh tartan parade in 2025. Due to the success of this years New York City Tartan Day Parade in Manhattan during tartan week, Edinburgh is bringing it back home bigger and better in 2025.
The Edinburgh Tartan Parade is not to be missed and will most likely be a capacity event, this blog covers everything you need to know.
What is the Edinburgh Tartan Parade? –
The Edinburgh tartan parade is making its debut in May 2025 to the streets of Edinburgh. The event was planned by Hand Up Events and Tania Pramschufer, who created the World Fair Trade Tartan, in collaboration with Kyle Dawson, president of the NYC parade.
The parade aims to walk through the old town streets of Edinburgh city centre, showcasing a variety of Scottish culture, dress, music & dancing. You can expect to see the busy streets of Edinburgh be full of colour, tartan, traditional music, highland wear & highland dance.
The event is free to enjoy but pre-booking is recommended to secure access to the parade. The point of the parade is to embrace Scottish history, culture & community allowing local Scots & tourists to connect through our beautiful Scottish culture.
There will be professional dancers, pipe bands & tartan dressed groups displaying inclusivity and diversity within Scotland. The tartan parade is perfect for anyone looking to get some Scottish spirit and pride, everyone of all families, demographics & backgrounds are welcome to come together for this special event.
It commemorates Edinburgh’s significant 900th anniversary as a city. The event’s vision is to unite people in the appreciation of the beauty of tartan, from Scotland and all around the world.
What Actually is Tartan? –
Tartan is a key aspect of Scottish identity and definitely can’t be missed when out and about in Edinburgh. Events like this celebrate the beauty of tartan as its rich history, Scots fought for our right to tartan & and ever since tartan has been at the heart of Scotland.
You may know tartan as “plaid” or “check” pattern, but tartan is the real name. Tartan first emerged in the early 2000-3000 B.C in different parts of the world including Scotland. Early tartans were simple at first but evolved to be more complex and colour varied as resources expanded.
Tartan is essentially a patterned cloth, many refer to the pattern it’s self as tartan i.e. tartan carpets (the carpet isn’t made of tartan but has a tartan pattern). Tartan is made by weaving interlocking threads horizontally and vertically on a loom. The woven fabric is most commonly known for being used in kilts and has a rich history in clan culture. In the 1700’s different area/family clans would have their own identifiable tartan this helped unify them and identify any intruders.
The original Falkirk tartan is kept in the National Museum of Scotland, and holds a valuable place in history as one of the earliest Scottish pieces of tartan.
There are very few remnants of original tartan, patterned cloth can be traced back to the modern Gaelic Scots from the highlands. Tartan is expected to be around 5000 years old.
who can wear tartan?-
Anyone! There is the misconception tartan is exclusively for Scots but tartan and Scottish culture is designed to be shared and is highly encouraged by Scottish people. It is often considered courteous to embrace a little bit of tartan to show appreciation to its rich culture & Scotland’s national dress.
You can wear almost any tartan regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, family or anything. Some tartans are private owned like the royal balmoral tartan only designed to be worn by the royals. There is thousands of family and clan tartans and the majority are more than free to use, some people will go on to design their own version of a family/ clan tartan or create one if not assigned to one.
When & Where is the Parade Happening? –
The event will take place on the 10th of May 2025, the starting location is the city chambers on the royal mile at 1pm till 3pm.
The event is free but has a capacity limit, so it is recommended to book ahead. The parade will start on the royal mile, following through busy, popular & scenic streets of Edinburgh city centre. The route is as follows:
Starting at the royal mile, leading into Cockburn street followed by Waverley bridge & the mound. The route does feature some steep areas and cobble paths.
What to Wear to the Tartan Parade-
The parade is on for a few hours and could be strenuous for a few. In Edinburgh, there is no strict dress code. You will see people in a variety of attire from highland dance outfits, to pipe band outfits to performers and more. In Edinburgh the city is so full of life you will see a variety of people from average local workers to students to families to tourists & people in full kilt outfits.
We recommend dressing casually with comfy shoes for walking. The steep hills of Edinburgh can be sore on the feet so comfy shoes are definitely recommended. As we hope for nice weather in May and are hopeful, the Scottish weather is unpredictable so we recommend a light coat just in case. You should also check the weather closer to the event to dress accordingly.
Most people will dress casual with comfy shoes and a light coat, this is what we would suggest as of now. Many people will choose to embrace the national dress and we highly recommend this. Not only is a kilt comfortable to walk in but helps with heat control when you work up a heat while walking.
Some may choose to do a full highland wear outfit but some will style a kilt more casually ideal for a parade walk with a jumper or a t-shirt. We think wearing a kilt is the most authentic Scottish way to be involved in a Scottish tartan parade.
If you don’t want to wear a full kilt, you can still participate by incorporating tartan into your outfit, such as a tartan scarf, tie, or sash. Women can also wear a tartan shawl or brooch to complete their look. Feel free to customize your outfit to reflect your personal style while embracing Scotland’s iconic tartans!
Why Consider Wearing a kilt? –
Large Scottish culture events like the tartan parade are great opportunities for Scots and everyone else to amerce themselves in Scottish culture & dress and what not a better time to rock some tartan than a tartan parade.
We firmly believe everyone should try on a kilt at least once in their live time and is a bucket list experience for most travellers to Scotland. We would recommend staying away from overpriced low quality tourist targeted shops if you are looking to source a kilt.
Stand out from the crowd and embrace the kilt, there is no better place than in Scotland right at the home of the kilt. There is a tartan for everyone from maximalists to minimalists, From modern kilt outfits to very old school traditional outfits.
The point in parades and Scottish events like this are designed to unify cultures and allow people to have a taste of what Scotland has to offer and a kilt is exactly the right way to do it in style.
We are a 4th generation Scottish traditional kiltmakers, and we have the largest tartan range in Scotland. We only specialise in authentic traditional highland wear. With over 100 years in the business, we have a genuine passion for what we do. We believe everyone should have a little piece of Scotland in their wardrobe or at least experience the kilt experience just once.
We offer a wide variety of kilt outfits & tartan trousers too, we have an extensive range of buy kilts, kilt packs and bespoke outfit options. If you are considering buying a kilt we recommend reading this guide here.
We also have a range of ex-hire kilts that are high quality and budget friendly.
We do multiple hire packages over on our hire website Kiltsforhire.com if you are looking for a kilt for the day. Investing in a kilt is one of the most sustainable and best choices you can make. Many kilts are passed down through generations and can be re-worn and styled over and over again making it a true wardrobe staple.
You can browse our buy collection here at Kiltmakers.com or if you have any enquires about bespoke jackets or buying a kilt, our team would love to welcome you in store.
Can’t make it to us? Not to worry you can reach out to us at [email protected] or alternatively call us on 0141 889 4879
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