Tag Archives: Hogmanay

Happy New Year to all the revellers

As visitors flood into the city for the world famous Hogmanay celebrations tonight, I will be taking it easy this year.

Here is a sketch from the Mound, looking down through the trees and railings over to Princes Street. The hoardings are up to advertise the upcoming New Year Celebrations of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.

This year the Sketcher Twins are 8 years old and for the first time we will be bringing in the New Year all together and awake! We are having a house party with a few friends who all have children of similar ages so it should be fun.

What ever you are doing tonight have a fabulous time and I wish you all the very best for the year ahead. And many thanks for your support through 2019 😉

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay website.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Blogmanay, Day 3

Fireworks_blogmanay2014Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great night. I was sketching at the world famous Edinburgh Street Party with over 80,000 revellers from around the globe.

 

Armed with my torch light, pen and watercolours I set off into the crowded streets of Edinburgh to see what I could capture in my sketchpad. If you follow me on twitter, Instagram or facebook you may of seen quick snaps of my sketches in your timeline but here I have scanned them for better quality.

HotDubTM_blogmanay2014

With so much on offer this year it was hard to decide where to start. Thankfully the #blogmanay media centre was at the Assembly Hall right next to the Hot Dub Time Machine stage on the Mound. Anthem after anthem was blasted out over the cheering crowd which was jumping all the way down to Princes Street. The Sketch above shows the stage and behind it the Museum on the Mound. I could of stayed there all night very happy.

 

MainStage_blogmanay2014

Instead I made my way down the Mound and into the Princes Street Gardens concert just as Soul II Soul were singing ‘Keep on Moving’ underneath Edinburgh Castle. I positioned myself high up towards the back and sketched the stage with the castle above.

 

After a short break and a word or two from compare Grant Stott (who did an excellent job as ever) Lily Allen took the stage for the main event. Belting out her well known pop tunes Lily didn’t disappoint and as she left the stage for the countdown the crowd were going wild.

 

For the first time the Castle was lit with different colours for each second in the final moments of 2014 as thousands of people counted down together. The fireworks were amazing of course, truly spectacular and being in the Gardens it seemed like they were going off all around me. I sketched away trying my best to capture each explosion!

 

I’d like to thank the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay team for helping me with access, it was a great experience and a terrific way to start 2015. I hope you enjoyed my sketching 🙂

 

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

Edinburgh’s Christmas

Hot Dub Time Machine

 

 

 

Plan ahead this Festive period with Lothian Buses

BusDepotChristmas and Hogmanay are just around the corner and Edinburgh is filling with revellers from around the world as the world’s best street party begins in earnest.

To help you plan your journey the Lothian Buses Christmas Grotto Bus will be out tonight (Thursday 18th Dec) in Edinburgh at various locations. Look out for the bright yellow bus at St Andrews Square, the Grassmarket and Princes Street. There will be goodies on offer as well as timetables and night bus information to help you get about over Christmas and New Year safely.

 

Today’s sketch is from the Lothian Buses depot in Annandale Street, a beautiful building which has been home to Lothian Buses since 1926 and before that was an Industrial Hall.

 

Lothian Buses website.

 

Edinburgh’s funfair festival

NewYearMarketStMore lights and sounds, thrills and wonder squeezes into Edinburgh city centre for Hogmanay 2014

You may be forgiven for thinking Edinburgh’s city centre was already full of thrilling rides and attractions for Edinburgh’s Christmas, but in the past couple of days the familiar site of Market Street lit with fairground rides and excitement can be seen leading up from Waverley train station to the Mound.

 

A pendulum of thrill seekers swings out towards Princes Street

 

A pendulum of thrill seekers swings out towards Princes Street Gardens as one ‘lucky’ reveller looks to be ‘catapulted’ into the night sky in what looks to be a large ball on bungee rope!

 

I admit I felt quite jealous of those arriving in the city for Hogmanay, it must be like landing in a magical land of lights and attractions, surrounded by stunning architecture and beautiful scenery.

 

My sketch was drawn on location, and coloured digitally later.