The Loony Dook is Edinburgh’s traditional New Year’s Day swim in the River Forth. Participants, many wearing costumes, enter the cold water at South Queensferry near the Forth Bridges.
The event takes place on January 1 and is associated with Edinburgh’s wider Hogmanay program. Its name is a playful shortening of “loony dip,” with dook reflecting a Scots form related to ducking or dipping. The swim is usually brief, but the cold water makes it a demanding spectacle for participants and an entertaining one for spectators.
The Loony Dook began in 1986, when a small group organized a humorous New Year dip. It later became a recurring public event, although arrangements can vary and some editions have been canceled or altered. It should not be confused with a generic “polar bear plunge,” the broad term used for cold-water New Year swims in many countries.