Ancient Archery Competition Returns to Drummond Castle 20th August 2022
If you are visiting the castle from 2pm on Saturday 20th of August 2022 you’ll be able to watch this ancient archery competition.
The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers, one of the oldest Archery organisations in the world, return to Drummond Castle this month for their annual Papingo Shoot.
Article Source: Drummond Castle
First Published: 16 August 2021 14:16
Updated: 12 August 2022 14:58
Shooting the Papingo
The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers, one of the oldest Archery organisations in the world, return to Drummond Castle this month for their annual Papingo Shoot.
This extraordinary archery competition has been held by the Society at Drummond Castle since 2016 however the custom dates back to the foundation of the Society in 1483. From 2.00pm on Saturday 21st August members of the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers attempt to dislodge the Papingo, a decorated wooden bird which is mounted on a pole on the top of the Drummond Castle Keep, to win the Drummond Silver Arrow.
Each archer shoots in turn, facing the 90 foot high Keep and stands directly below the Papingo shooting vertically upwards with blunted arrows. The idea is to dislodge the Papingo from its perch on the pole. The order of shooting is determined by lot and the number of strikes is recorded for each archer. The winner is the archer who has recorded the most hits in the time allowed and, in the event of a tie, the one who was first to achieve the score. The shoot commences at 2.00pm and finishes at 4.00pm and if nobody has succeeded in “dinging doon the doo,” we say that “The bird has flown” and the Drummond Silver Arrow remains unclaimed for the year.
Stuart Wilson, Captain of the Kilwinning Archers, said: “Members of the Kilwinning Archers thoroughly enjoy their day out to Drummond Castle with its wonderful gardens, especially shooting for such a prize as the Drummond Silver Arrow and we expect competition to be fierce on the day.”
Sebastian Miller, Managing Trustee of the Drummond Castle & Grimsthorpe Trust, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Kilwinning Archers back for their annual Papingo Shoot. It is an important date in the Drummond calendar and we look forward to watching an excellent display of archery.”