Five weddings, a flash mob and a walking love shack - the spectacle that is Belladrum 2024
If there was a prize for the most dedicated fans embracing the Belladrum spirit, Hazel and Adele would surely be in the running.
As the three-day event built up to a crescendo, the pair epitomised the fun, feel-good and quirky nature that is Belladrum as they sauntered through the festival site.
Adele Cameron, of the Black Isle, depicted a walking Shaque D’Amour, or Love Shack, with set rules - Huggin’ & a Kissin’, Dancin’ & a Lovin’ and Wearing Next to Nothin’.
So had Adele anyone in mind she was hoping to welcome to the Love Shack?
“Oh no, there’s no room for anyone else in here,” declared Adele from somewhere within the carefully-constructed ensemble.
Hazel Booth, of Angus, said the pair were best pals but wryly acknowledged that friendship could be tested by the end of the day after the fifth time of holding the Shaque D’Amour as Adele queued for one of the festival toilets.
There was also the challenge of sitting down to view that day’s acts not to mention the weather was warming up.
The pair have been coming to Belladrum for most of its 20-year history and were determined to embrace this year’s theme of Love with eye-catching outfits.
“We didn’t want to be just another pair of hippies,” explained Hazel, attired in a bold red heart decorated dress, and went on to sum up what makes Belladrum special.
“I love the variety of people and the festival’s Scottish-ness.”
It was a much-repeated sentiment.
More pictures: Enjoying the fun at the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival
Friendly atmosphere. Family-orientated. Idiosyncratic. Diverse. Exhausting. All apply to Belladrum.
While the headliners may have the main stages, the festival-goers themselves are, in reality, protagonists in a wonderful, enthralling and constantly-moving performance.
Whichever way you look, there is something to capture your attention from the ever-extravagant costumes to exuberant dance moves.
There are unexpected moments from the bizarre to the uplifting.
Two women with a mini red telephone box kindly issued an invitation to make a call to whoever I wanted on an unconnected old-fashioned dial-up phone.
An unexpected flash mob entertained the huge crowd ahead of the appearance by Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 whose slot included a special moment for the festival’s chosen charity, the Elsie Normington Foundation, which is behind the Inverness-based Haven Centre for young people with complex needs.
Anthony and Struan, two youngsters who benefit from the centre, and Ian and Rona Matheson, of the foundation, found themselves a part of the performance.
Walking around the site, the sounds from one stage are replaced from the sounds of the next.
From frenetic beats belted out by headliners on the Hot House Stage to quieter acoustic sounds on the Trailer Trash stage in a tucked-away wooded corner, there was music for everyone’s taste.
For those looking for non-music entertainment there was written word and a poetry slam in the Verb Garden, wrestling in the Venus Fly Trap Palais and cycle stunts.
During the course of the festival, there were also five weddings at the Belladrum Temple.
They included that of magician Alan Innes and Vicki Weaver whose surprise "rehearsal" was witnessed by thousands on the opening night on the Garden stage at the end of the performance by Nathan Evans, the Scottish musician who became an overnight star in 2020 when a sea shanty he posted on social media went viral.
It was a quieter affair the following day when the pair married in a ceremony in front of 30 family members and friends.
The wedding party got dressed in two motorhomes.
"The boys were in one and the girls in the other,” Vicki said. “People were falling over each other trying to get into the one tiny toilet to get organised - but we managed."
It was not the only the wedding - Scott Rydings and Zoe Tomlinson, of Fort William, were the first couple to tie the knot following a slight delay after the bridegroom realised he had left behind the paperwork.
Fortunately, it was quickly resolved and the 60 or so guests witnessed a moving ceremony in the tranquility of the stone temple - as close by thousands of festival-goers continued celebrating the theme of Love, each in their own individual way.
