The Beltane Fire Festival is a revival and embellishment of an old Celtic festival which welcomed spring roughly at the mid-point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

In its present form it's been organised on Calton Hill since 1988 and has steadily grown from a fairly rag-tag bohemian celebration to a popular event focused on a large scale performance by hundreds of volunteers.

Spring's triumph over winter

The story these drummers and dancers perform involves the killing of the God of winter who's reborn as the Green Man of spring who consorts with the May Queen. Here is how the organisers explain it.

It's all a little hard to follow among the crowds, fire-eaters and bonfires. But good fun all the same.

Usually things go on until dawn and involve rolling around in the morning dew, but the vast majority of spectators leave well before then.

Samhuinn Fire Festival