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Writer's pictureBart Forbes

Lonach Pipe Band


Lonach Pipe Band, Clan Gathering 2009, Edinburgh

The Lonach Pipe Band (Lonach Gu Bràth in Gaelic) traces its beginning to the 1840s when the band met and played only once a year at the Lonach Highland Gathering. During the late 1950s, the band began to accept invitations to play at events other than Lonach. Since then, they have played at many events throughout North East Scotland and beyond.


Lonach Hill: cairn in the distance, River Don below

The band is named for the traditional war cry (“Lonach!”) of the House of Forbes. This cry would gather the clan to Lonach Hill, then one of the highest points in the region once called Forbes. Bounded on three sides by the River Don, the hill is marked by a cairn and a granite boundary stone with the letters “S” and “I” cut into the West-South-West and East-North-East sides respectively. This indicates the boundaries of the former Forbes estates of Skellater and Inverernan.


Lonach Pipe Band leads the Lonach Highlanders at the Lonach Highland Gathering on the fourth Saturday of every year in Bellabeg Park in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. Most of the men in the Lonach Highlanders are Forbes, although there is a section for the Wallace and Gordon clans as well, each with their own tartan. The Gathering is produced by the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, a charitable organization based in Strathdon. The society was formed in 1823, by Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet of Newe and Edinglassie. Its current patron is Sir James Thomas Stewart Forbes, 8th Baronet of Newe.

In 1999, the Lonach Pipe Band produced a CD of its music which is available from Amazon, Apple iTunes, and Spotify.


Braemar Media has also produced and posted many videos of the Lonach Pipe Band. Braemar Media is an online TV service based in the village of Braemar in the Cairngorms, which aims to provide original content and share some of the attractions that the highlands of Scotland have to offer.


For more Information:




YouTube - Braemar Media

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