Archive Hour: Championships return for fourth consecutive year

DUMBARTON came to a standstill amid a sea of tartan recently.

Thousands of spectators flocked to hear hundreds of pipers and drummers play at Levengrove Park.

The occasion was the Laphroaig Scottish Pipe Band Championships which were staged in the Burgh for the fourth consecutive year.

Traffic crawled through the High Street and roads outwith the area were packed because of the number of visitors, while pedestrians streamed across the Artizan Bridge on a perfect sunny day for a glorious occasion.

A proud man on the day was Provost Alistair Macdonald, in his role as chieftain of the championships, who welcomed the bandsmen and women from 129 pipe bands from all corners of the country and abroad.

Shoppers in the town centre were also entertained at lunchtime when several of the bands, including the City of Berne Pipe Band, from Switzerland, and another from Ireland played before taking part in Saturday’s championships.

And it was players from Northern Ireland, the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band who won the championship's top prize in Grade 1.

They also won the award for the Best Drum Corp in Grade 1.

Other winners were: Grade 2 Drambuie Kirkliston; Grade 3A - City of Amsterdam with Strathclyde Fire Brigade in second place; Grade 3B Seven Towers; Grade Juvenile - George Watson’s College; Grade 4A Linlithgow & District; Grade 4B - Letterkenny & District; Grade Novice - Inverclyde Juveniles.

Apart from the music from the pipe bands there was also a variety of events including a fun fair, highland dancing competitions, numerous stalls and many other attractions.