Tossing the caber is a major part of any Highland games.

For many foreign people the classic image of summer sport in the UK is that of English gentlemen dressed inwhite flannelsplaying cricket all day in the village park.

However, if you travel north of the border, to Scotland, you may find a very different kind of sporting entertainment – enormous men wearingkiltstrying to throwtree trunkshigh into the air, or beautiful girls dancing gracefully on top ofswords, all accompanied by thehaunting musicof thebagpipes.

This is the Highland games, a celebration of Scottish andCelticculture which takes place every summer in the north of Scotland. Although many Highland games take place around Scotland each summer, they all share certaincommon characteristics.

At the heart of any Highland games are theheavy events. These traditional sports are designed to let competitors show off theirphysical prowessand require great strength.

The mostemblematicof the heavy events is known as ‘tossingthe caber’ – in this event a strong man throws a tree trunk (or caber), which is around 5.5 meters in length and weighs 55kg, into the air. In order to win the caber must turn over in the air and land at a good angle to the thrower.

Ifburlymen throwing giant pieces of wood around arenot your cup of tea, then perhaps the musical aspect of the Highland games would be more to your taste.

Music and dance form an enormous part of Scottish and Celtic culture, and traditional Scottish music is immediatelyidentifiablebecause of its use of traditional instruments such as the bagpipes, drums andfiddle.

Highland dancing is a competitive event in which kilted dancers try tooutdo each otherin terms of grace andtechnical achievement.

And if that isn’t enough, you can enjoy the sight ofmockbattles as historical societies recreate famous battles from Scotland’s history. If you enjoyed ‘Braveheart’ at the cinema, you’ll love the Highland games in real life.