Hundreds of students take part in traditional May Dip

Hundreds of University of St Andrews students gathered at the East Sands at dawn today (Monday 1 May 2023) to take part in the traditional May Dip.

At sunrise on May Day students make their way down to East Sands and collectively run into the North Sea.

The Dip is a unique St Andrews tradition which is intended to bring good luck to students in their exams and cleanse any academic sins.

The evening before the May Dip, students gather to take part in The Gaudie, a torchlit procession and pier walk in St Andrews.

The annual Gaudie takes place on 30 April to commemorate John Honey, a student who, in 1800, rescued members of the crew of the Janet of Macduff which had run aground off the East Sands.

Every year, students process by candlelight, led by a piper, to the East Sands where they lay a wreath at the site of the shipwreck.

More photos and video content from The Gaudie and May Dip are available on Instagram and Facebook.