Edinburgh’s volunteer-run fire ritual marks the end of summer with torches, drums and a bonfire above the city on 31 October.
Most of Britain marks 31 October with plastic pumpkins and bags of sweets. On Calton Hill in Edinburgh, the Samhuinn Fire Festival marks the Celtic New Year, with drummers, fire performers, and a bonfire that burns above the city lights.
The 2026 festival runs on Saturday 31 October, with gates open at 6.30pm. When we checked the official ticket page on 5 October, every ticket type showed as sold out, and a waiting list was open. This guide covers the night itself, the rules that decide how smoothly you get through the gate, and the older Scottish customs that Samhuinn draws on.
Event date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Location: Calton Hill, Edinburgh (enter from the bottom of Regent Road)
Nearest town: Edinburgh city centre, where the hill stands
Getting there: On foot from the city centre. Edinburgh Waverley is the nearest mainline station, so check live services on National Rail before you travel
Admission: Ticketed. Adults: £15; under-16s: £12, plus a booking fee. Sold out when we checked on 5 October
Tickets: Citizen Ticket; the waiting list is open
What It Is: The Samhuinn Fire Festival Explained
The Beltane Fire Society, a volunteer-run Edinburgh group, stages Samhuinn every year. The society calls it a modern re-imagining of an ancient Celtic festival, one that marks the dark end of summer and the start of winter. It is a ritual performance, not a historical re-enactment, and the society says so itself.
The story has three main figures. The Summer and Winter courts face each other in a standoff. The Cailleach, a Celtic image of the Goddess often called the Divine Hag or Crone, decides each king’s fate and ushers in the colder months.
The festival first took place in 1995 as a procession through the Royal Mile. It stayed there for more than two decades. In 2018, the society moved it to Calton Hill, and the move brought a bonfire finale that the Royal Mile never had room for. In the society’s own words, “there’s not a lot of space for one on the Royal Mile”.
What Happens on the Night
Gates open at 6.30pm, and the last entry is 9pm. The organisers light the Neid Fire, the festival’s bonfire, at 7.45pm. They expect the rituals to finish by 10.30pm.
Plan for a long evening. From the opening of the gates to the end of the rituals, the programme spans four hours. Wrap up for all of it, because you will spend most of that time standing on an exposed hillside.
Between the gates opening and the bonfire, drummers, acrobats and fire performers move across the hill in costume. The organiser describes “a cavalcade of mysterious characters” and promises drumming, acrobatics and fire throughout. The Cailleach guides the audience through the clash between the Summer and Winter courts, and the story builds to the bonfire.
Expect cold air, woodsmoke and the thud of drums. Fire performers work close to the crowd, so the organisers ask you to stay two metres back at all times. The organisers ban flash photography, so switch it off before you reach the gate.
Samhuinn Fire Festival Tickets: Sold Out, So What Now
Standard adult tickets cost £15 plus a £1.38 booking fee. Under-16s paid £12 plus £1.16, and a limited low-income ticket started at £10. All three showed as sold out on the Citizen Ticket page, which asks you to join a waiting list in case the organisers release more tickets.
The organiser lists Citizen Ticket as its only outlet, so treat any other seller with suspicion, and do not climb the hill without a ticket in hand, hoping to talk your way in. Join the waiting list now, and check it again in the week before the festival, because people return tickets.
If you miss out, you have two options. First, keep an eye on the waiting list. Second, mark the date for next year and buy early. We have not found a verified free viewing point for the bonfire, so we are not suggesting one.
If you want a Samhain night elsewhere, our guide to Samhain at the Ulster Folk Museum covers a three-day programme from 29 to 31 October, with turnip carving, cabbage fortune-telling and the Armagh Rhymers in their straw masks.
Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult who holds a ticket, so a child cannot buy their way in alone.
If you need access support, the organiser asks you to email access@beltane.org by 28 October. It can arrange taxi drop-off and carer or companion tickets.
Scotland’s Halloween Before the Pumpkin
Scotland marked this night long before shop windows filled with plastic skeletons. In Gaelic, Halloween is Oidhche Shamhna, and communities lit bonfires called samhnagan to protect themselves from evil spirits. Island communities held competitions for the biggest fire. On the mainland, people placed their fires where neighbours could see them from a distance.
The nineteenth-century folklorist John Gregorson Campbell recorded that Samhain marked the Celtic new year. He wrote that believers held the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world to break down on 31 October, according to The Scotsman’s heritage coverage.
Guising, the custom behind modern trick-or-treating, began as a form of protection. Children disguised themselves so that fairies could not carry them off, and performed a song or a joke at each door for a scone or a bannock. In 1932, the photographer Margaret Fay Shaw photographed children guising on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. They wore sheepskins, sometimes with the scraped-out skull and ears, and carried lit peat to find their way between houses. Locals called the night Oidhche nan Cleas, the Night of Tricks. Her pictures survive in the archive at Canna House, which the National Trust for Scotland cares for.
That belief in a thin wall between worlds also runs through Scotland’s fairy lore. Our guide to Doon Hill at Aberfoyle tells the story of a minister who studied fairy folk and vanished on a hill.
What to Wear and Bring
The organiser asks you to avoid synthetic clothes, and adds that you should still wrap up. Pick wool, cotton or leather for your outer layers, and add a hat and gloves for a night spent standing on an exposed hill in late October.
Pack light. Bags can be no bigger than an A3 sheet of paper, and the festival has no cloakroom, so anything you bring stays on your back all night. Leave glass bottles, drums, drones and dogs at home. Guide dogs are the only exception. The organiser also asks you to leave no trace, so take your waste with you.
When and Where
The festival takes place on Saturday 31 October 2026 on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. Gates open at 6.30pm and close to new entries at 9pm. The organiser asks you to approach from the bottom of Regent Road.
The organiser says the official programme runs until about 10.30pm. There is no cloakroom, so carry only what you need.
The organiser’s own site lists the day as Friday in one place, but 31 October 2026 falls on a Saturday, and the ticketing page reflects that. Check the date on your ticket before you travel.
Getting There
Walk. Calton Hill sits in the centre of Edinburgh, and Edinburgh Waverley is the nearest mainline station. Check live train times on National Rail, and expect Halloween Saturday to be busy.
The Apex Waterloo Place Hotel’s own website puts Calton Hill about five minutes’ walk from the hotel, and says the hotel is five minutes from Waverley. That gives you a sense of the distances in the city centre.
We have not confirmed any event parking, so plan to walk or use public transport.
Where to Stay
Apex Waterloo Place Hotel, Edinburgh. The hotel on Waterloo Place (EH1 3BG) says Calton Hill is about five minutes’ walk away.
Motel One Edinburgh-Royal, Edinburgh. A hotel at 18 to 21 Market Street (EH1 1BL), close to the Royal Mile.
Book early. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year.
Where to Eat and Drink
The Guildford Arms, Edinburgh. The pub at 1 West Register Street (EH2 2AA) has been in the Stewart family’s continuous ownership since 1896. It serves real ale under a rococo plaster ceiling, and the kitchen runs from midday to 9pm daily.
Café Royal, Edinburgh. The bar and restaurant at 19 West Register Street (EH2 2AA) opens from 9am to 1am, Thursday to Saturday.
Eat before you go up the hill. Gates open at 6.30pm, and we cannot confirm any food on site.
After the rituals finish at about 10.30pm, both venues are still open. The Guildford Arms bar runs until 1am on Friday and Saturday, and Café Royal closes at 1am from Thursday to Saturday.
Worth Knowing
- Samhuinn began in 1995 on the Royal Mile and moved to Calton Hill in 2018. The bonfire only became possible after the move.
- Wear natural fibres, not synthetics, because the organiser asks you to avoid synthetic clothing. Wrap up in wool or cotton layers instead.
- This is a modern ritual built on older customs, not a historical re-enactment. The society describes it as a re-imagining.
Practical Tips
- Wear wool, cotton or leather, and add layers. October nights on an exposed hill are cold.
- Carry a bag no bigger than an A3 sheet of paper. There is no cloakroom.
- Leave glass bottles, drums, drones and dogs at home. Guide dogs are the exception.
- Stay two metres back from fire performers and keep flash off.
- Take everything you bring back down with you. The organiser asks for no litter.
- Use the AllTrails app to plan the walk to the bottom of Regent Road and back to your hotel in the dark.
Reader Q&A
Is the Samhuinn Fire Festival sold out?
Yes. All ticket types showed as sold out on 5 October, and Citizen Ticket has a waiting list open. Check it again nearer the date.
Is it suitable for children?
It depends on the child. Under-16s need an adult with a ticket, and the organiser warns that the event contains semi-nudity and uninhibited behaviour. Read that warning before you book for a family.
What time does it start?
Gates open at 6.30pm, the Neid Fire is lit at 7.45pm, and last entry is 9pm. The organiser expects the rituals to finish by 10.30pm.
Can I bring a dog?
No. Dogs are not allowed, except guide dogs.
How do I get there without a car?
Walk. Edinburgh Waverley is the nearest mainline station, and the organiser asks you to approach from the bottom of Regent Road. Check live train times on National Rail.
Britain once lit its fires on the last night of October to mark the end of the light, and on Calton Hill one of them still burns. Read more of our Events coverage.
