Scottish Government urges Scots to avoid large NYE parties

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Pictures showed empty pubs and quiet streets in Glasgow and Edinburgh yesterday as thousands of Scots jumped on the train and headed south to Newcastle, while in Bristol, bars and clubs were packed with Welsh people. 

Empty chairs were piled up outside bars and restaurants in Glasgow’s usually bustling Merchant City district, while sparse crowds of shoppers were seen along the iconic Royal Mile. 

Though, around 1,000 people made the annual pilgrimage up Calton Hill in Edinburgh for the stroke of midnight where they were greeted by a lone piper. 

But for many Scots, regulations such as table service in bars and no nightclubs prompted them to seek entertainment on the far side of the River Tweed.  

In Newcastle, pubs filled up with eager revellers including groups of Scottish ‘Covid refugees’ who declared themselves ‘fed up’ with the tough rules in Scotland.

Josh Urquart, Dean Heggie, Campbell McLean and Jamie had kicked off the celebrations early yesterday in a pub where they sat next to a Saltire. 

Dylan Neill and Alex Cairns, both 18, had travelled from Fife with a group of pals who were checking in at their hotel in the city centre at around 1pm.

College student Dylan said: ‘We can’t go out properly back home so we’ve come to Newcastle for a night out. It’s something different.

‘It’s not ideal having these restrictions in place at New Year. If we’d stayed in Scotland we might have ended up sitting at somebody’s house. Now we’ve come here we’ll be able to go out properly.’

Meanwhile, Alex, who also goes to college, was frustrated by the local restrictions preventing him and his friends from hitting the town at home.

He said: ‘We’re fed up now with the rules at our local. Everyone in Newcastle would be fed up with it too if they were in place here.

‘We plan on going to the nightclub Tup Tup later but not sure where before that. Some of us have been here before but some never have. We’re looking forward to going out.’

A third friend, who didn’t want to be named, said: ‘We’re fed up of Nicola Sturgeon putting in these restrictions. That’s why we’re happy to be in Newcastle where we can go out and have fun.’

Scottish revellers took to the streets of Newcastle this New Year’s Eve in defiance of the strict Covid rules in place in their homeland.

Lana-Terri McBride, 18, had driven to the city from Glasgow with her pal Alexander Davidson, a 19-year-old customer care worker. 

Lana-Terri, a carer, said: ‘It would have been terrible if we’d stayed in Glasgow. 

‘The rules are understandable because Covid is rife in Scotland. But we still want to have fun. I’ve had Covid and I was ill with it, so I know why people are scared. 

‘But at the end of the day we are teenagers. 

‘We have not had a life for the past two years. This night out means so much to me. We’ve just been stuck in. 

‘We’ve had a lot of fun so far. ‘It’s not even cost that much to get here so it’s definitely worth it.’ 

Abbie Robinson, 19, and Chloe McLean, also 19, are dance students from Glasgow. Chloe said: 

‘If we hadn’t come to Newcastle we would have been in the house. Nicola Sturgeon has shut everything down. We would have been crying in our beds, and New Year would have been totally ruined. 

‘They should have waited until after New Year to implement the rules. People will just have house parties instead so you wonder what the point is. 

‘We drove here in two and a half hours. It’s definitely worth it. It has only cost us around £30 or £40, so why wouldn’t we come? 

‘We’re staying in a hotel overnight. It seems a bit cheaper in Newcastle as well. We’re absolutely loving it and having a really good time so far.’ 

Stewart Anderson is a 22-year-old postgrad student from Glasgow. He was out with his pal Kerr Wilson, a 26-year-old project manager. Stewart said: ‘We’ve come to Newcastle tonight because places are open. It’s table service only in Scotland. It would have been extremely boring had we stayed in Glasgow. 

‘It’s only cost us £60 to get down here on the coach and stay in a hotel. It’s definitely worth it. However, we have to say we’re not looking forward to the trip back tomorrow.’ 

Gerry Campbell is a 27-year-old finance worker from Thurles, in Tipperary, Ireland. Him and pals had planned to spend New Year in Scotland but travelled to Newcastle instead to avoid the restrictions. He said: ‘In Ireland we would have had to come home at 8pm, so we’d be back by now. 

‘Here in Newcastle we can stay out all night. We’re having a good time so far. You can easily travel, so it makes sense. I’m not worried about the virus any more. We’re really happy to be here celebrating New Year.’ 

Rebecca Thornburn, a 19-year-old student, planned on heading to late night bar Livellos. 

She said: ‘We’re really looking forward to going out tonight. 

‘It would have been terrible in Edinburgh. 

‘We wouldn’t have been able to do anything. 

‘We are not worried about the virus. 

‘We want to have fun in Newcastle on New Year’s Eve.’ 

Her friend Elle McKinnon, a 19-year-old hairdresser, added: ‘My brother is here with 20 of his friends. 

‘Most of the Scottish people we know are coming to England. 

‘The rules are there to protect us but I do think life should get back to normal now.’ 

A group of eight lads had also travelled from the Scottish capital to party in Newcastle. Steven Harris, a 23-year-old student, said: ‘it would have been so boring in Scotland. 

‘We’re here to have a good time. We don’t agree with the rules in Edinburgh.’ 

His friend Matt, a 19-year-old electrician, added: ‘It would have been rubbish in Edinburgh. 

‘The restrictions up there are brutal. 

‘We are here to have fun.’ 

Also fresh from Scotland were Katie Neilson and her two pals who had arrived in Newcastle from Edinburgh.

The trio had only recently booked up to come to Newcastle after realising they wouldn’t be able to party back home.

They were even prepared to make the journey by car if it got to that point, as some trains from the Scottish capital have been cancelled.

Katie, 18, who works part-time in retail, said: ‘We’ve come to Newcastle for the clubs. We did have tickets for a club in Edinburgh but they all got shut so we chose to come here instead.

‘We booked up on Wednesday. I’ve been to Newcastle twice before over the last few months and it’s great. We’re booked up to go Digital night club. It was eithier there or TupTup but we’ve booked there so we can’t wait.

‘It’s our favourite place. It has a better night life than Edinburgh in my opinion so I’m happy about it. The restrictions in Scotland haven’t been in for long but it’s a bit gutting.’

Katie’s pal Lucy Pryde, said she was fed up of living by the stringent rules.

The 18-year-old who works at a gym said: ‘I can’t deal with it anymore, it’s so bad. I think we just need to live our lives. People should stop testing so often too.

‘I don’t agree with it anymore. At first I could understand but the restrictions keep coming back. We’re pleased to be here though and celebrate new year.’

Leah Grant, 19, added: ‘We thought our train was going to get cancelled because we heard some of them have been already.

‘I was getting prepared to drive us here which I would have done if I had to. But thankfully we’re here now and we’re looking forward to a good night.’     

Nicola Sturgeon has banned large Hogmanay celebrations and advised people to limit socialising as much as possible, and Deputy First Minister John Swinney today called on all Scots to stick to the Scottish Government’s guidance. 

He said people are being urged to restrict socialising because Omicron is ‘spreading very, very widely within our society’ and it ‘poses a serious threat to us’.  

The First Minister said it is ‘prudent’ and ‘essential’ to take action to reduce transmission of the disease in order to ‘avoid the sheer volume of cases overwhelming us’. 

She has urged people to reduce their contacts with other households and to ‘limit the size of any indoor social gatherings that do take place so that they don’t include people from any more than three households’.

There are similar restrictions on socialising in place in Wales and experts have predicted as many as 100,000 Scottish and Welsh revellers could journey across the border to celebrate this evening.

There are no such curbs in England, with people simply being encouraged to take a Covid test before they head to a party. 

Mr Swinney was asked this morning why the Scottish Government was not prepared to ‘trust’ people to get tested before celebrating. 

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We do trust people and we have encouraged them to do exactly that.

‘But we have also asked people to limit their social contact because we can see from all of the data that you have just recounted that Omicron is spreading very, very widely within our society.

‘It poses a serious threat to us, we can see hospitalisation levels are increasing… so at a time when I recognise all of the sentiments that were set out in the clip that you have just played, I recognise all of those traditions, I have been part of them, I value them, I appreciate them, I love them, it is part of who we are.

‘But unfortunately this time around we have to apply some constraints on the level of social interaction we have to protect others.’

Mr Swinney said earlier this week that he would ‘discourage’ Scots from heading to England to celebrate on New Year’s Eve.     

He said that ‘people are free to take those decisions but I would discourage them from doing so’.

Groups of Scots were pictured arriving in English towns and cities yesterday. 

Newcastle is a particular draw given its proximity to Scotland and famously lively party scene, and yesterday there was a steady flow of Scots arriving at Central Station.

Aidyn Stott was getting off the train after travelling from Fife with his partner. He plans on spending today in Newcastle after becoming fed up of the stringent Scottish rules.

The 21-year-old joiner told MailOnline: ‘It’s not good up in Scotland having to live with the restrictions. We’re here for the New Year and we plan on going out for it to celebrate. We’ll be going to the Tup Tup nightclub.

‘I don’t agree with the restrictions in Scotland. A few miles away south of the border you can go out as normal. It doesn’t make any sense.

‘It’s good to come to Newcastle because you’re used to going out back home all the time and it gets a bit boring.

‘You can come here and go to the football and do a lot more than you can in Scotland.’

One Scottish taxi driver had travelled from Edinburgh with his partner for a trip to Newcastle.

He didn’t want to be named but said: ‘It’s nice just to be able to get away from the Covid situation in Scotland. I’m going down to London as well soon to watch Chelsea play football to just get away from it.

‘Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t drink, she’s teetotal. She targets the working man. The people she targets are everything she hates.

‘On a normal New Year’s Eve I’d be working or I would be at my local pub where every year there are hundreds of people. That’s not going to happen now and it affects everyone. The restrictions are wrong because they’re not working in my opinion.’ 

Alex Torrence, 32, who works at a hotel in Glasgow, arrived at Euston railway station in London today and said he was going on to Brighton to visit friends.

He said he had spent ‘well over £100’ to make the trip, adding: ‘I booked the trip long before the restrictions came in, but I decided I was going to come anyway. The hotel I’m working at is closed. I booked the time off. Why not?

‘I am completely understanding of the restrictions that Nicola Sturgeon has put in place, but people also have to carry on and live their lives.

‘I spent Christmas Day by myself because my mum is vulnerable and she’s not got the booster yet. I’m not going to be alone on New Year’s Eve as well.’

Mike, who came from Scotland and arrived at King’s Cross, was with three male friends and said they were going to go out in central London over the next few nights. He said: ‘Aye, I don’t care [about the Covid restrictions]. I’m here to have a laugh.’

Nowhere else in the world celebrates Hogmanay like Scotland, but for a second year Covid restrictions caused large event cancellations.

Despite the rules, about 1,000 people of all ages climbed to the top of Edinburgh’s Calton Hill to make the traditional countdown to the bells at midnight.

Before Christmas, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people to ‘stay at home as much as possible.’

New limits on large public gatherings forced the cancellation of New Year’s Eve street parties, for the second year, including the one planned for Edinburgh which attracts tens of thousands of people.

Hogmanay street parties across Scotland were cancelled, with crowds at outdoor public events capped at 500 since Boxing Day, for at least three weeks, and numbers at indoor public events limited to 100 standing or 200 seated.

Some people were not deterred and travelled thousands of miles to party in Edinburgh and make the most of a scaled-down New Year.

Brenda Jane Baxter-Vell, from Zimbabwe, travelled to Edinburgh with her friend Captain Kevin Pope, having lost her husband to Covid-19 in November and her father earlier in the year.

Mrs Baxter-Vell, speaking outside a bar on the Royal Mile, said: ‘We have a lot of family history in Scotland and will spend our time tracking it down.’

Captain Pope, formerly of the 1st Kings Own Scottish Borderers, said: ‘We booked and paid for the torchlight march to Calton Hill and are very disappointed.

‘In the true spirit of flexibility, though, we have made plans within the guidance and restrictions.’

Hannah Vorchmann, 52, from Gdynia in Poland, said the £500 she and her husband paid for Hogmanay night in an Edinburgh hotel was a lot for them.

Mrs Vorchmann added: ‘We saw on the internet that the street celebrations in Edinburgh were off but we could not cancel and flew in today and leave at 4pm on New Year’s Day.

‘Everything is so beautiful and we’ll be back next year.’

Eileen and Chris Chalmers from Dreghorn in Aryshire had a few days extra holiday to use.

Mrs Chalmers said: ‘We specifically chose to visit Edinburgh and the site at Mortonhall, in our campervan, because the large scale festivities were cancelled.

‘It seemed an ideal time to come to the city.’

Canadian music producer, Karl Ziegler, aged 22 and his partner Liv May, 23, from Manchester, visited Edinburgh aiming to spend time with family.

Mr Ziegler said: ‘Covid has disrupted our plans because a member of the family has tested positive, so as Liv has not been here before we’ll be having a touristy three days.’

Ms Sturgeon said the restrictions were aimed at cutting down transmission of the Omicron coronavirus variant and because ‘large events put an additional burden on emergency services’. 

Piper Dave Tunstall, aged 44, who caught Covid-19 earlier in the year, drove to the capital, from Paisley, to busk on the Royal Mile.

‘Busking with my pipes is helping pay the bills at the moment,’ said Mr Tunstall, ‘I play the double bass in a band called Langan but work is short.

‘In previous Hogmanays we have played gigs in London,’ he added.

‘It is great to be able to bring music to people at this time of year.’