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In Pictures: Northern lights, Taylor Swift and a frozen troot – Scotland in 2024

The best of the images from across the country for the past 12 months.

By contributor By PA
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The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, above the Forth Bridge at North Queensferry in May
The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, above the Forth Bridge at North Queensferry in May (Jane Barlow/PA)

Scotland welcomed 2024 in explosive style with the traditional fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle at the Hogmanay street party.

The 12 months which followed saw electoral change, footballing disappointment and all-conquering pop star Taylor Swift take over Murrayfield.

Courtesy of PA news agency photographers, these are the most captivating images from Scotland over the last year.

Fireworks explode over Edinburgh Castle and the Balmoral Clock
Fireworks explode over Edinburgh Castle and the Balmoral Clock as 2024 is ushered in with the Hogmanay street party (Jane Barlow/PA)
People take part in a loony dook dip in the Firth of Forth at Kinghorn, Fife, on the first day of 2024
People take part in a loony dook dip in the Firth of Forth at Kinghorn, Fife, on the first day of 2024 (Jane Barlow/PA)
The Jarl Squad set light to a galley in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles during the Up Helly Aa fire festival
The Jarl Squad set light to a galley in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles during the Up Helly Aa fire festival at the end of January (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Dancers in the girls' 12-13 competition take part in the 48th World Irish Dancing Championships at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow in March
Dancers in the girls’ 12-13 competition take part in the 48th World Irish Dancing Championships at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow in March (Jane Barlow/PA)
Pipe bands play during a special event day to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kelpies sculpture in Falkirk in April
Pipe bands play during a special event day to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kelpies sculpture in Falkirk in April (Jane Barlow/PA)
Humza Yousaf walks down stairs clutching a folder before resigning as First Minister
Humza Yousaf prepares to resign as SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister at the end of April (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Anas Sarwar and Sir Keir Starmer dressed in hi-vis jackets and hard hats at the Port of Greenock
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (right) joins UK party leader Sir Keir Starmer at the Port of Greenock on the campaign trail in May before July’s UK general election victory (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Music fans hold their mobile phones in the air as they watch Taylor Swift perform on stage during her Eras tour at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on June 7
Music fans watch Taylor Swift perform on stage during her Eras tour at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on June 7 (Jane Barlow/PA)
Scotland football fans congregated en masse in Marienplatz, Munich, in a sea of blue ahead of the start of Euro 2024
Scotland fans gather in Munich in June for the start of the Euro 2024 football tournament, which ended with the team finishing bottom of the group (Andrew Milligan/PA)
The King meets performers at a celebration at Edinburgh Castle to mark the 900th anniversary of the city at the start of July
The King meets performers at a celebration at Edinburgh Castle to mark the 900th anniversary of the city at the start of July (Jane Barlow/PA)
Two acrobats standing on the shoulders of another two acrobats while a female acrobat balances a foot on each of their heads in front of the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh
Acrobats take part in a display in front of the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh during a photocall for the Gravity and Other Myths show Ten Thousand Hours, ahead of their appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August (Jane Barlow/PA)
Burryman Andrew Taylor parades through the town of South Queensferry encased in burrs
Burryman Andrew Taylor parades through the town of South Queensferry encased in burrs. The parade takes place on the second Friday of August each year and is said to bring the town good luck (Jane Barlow/PA)
Students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife in October
Students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife in October (Lesley Martin/PA)
The man-made fish-shaped Muckle Troot Loch near Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, surrounded by snow and ice as temperatures dropped in November
The man-made fish-shaped Muckle Troot Loch near Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, is surrounded by snow and ice as temperatures fall in November (Jane Barlow/PA)
Mourners at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh during the public memorial service for the former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, who died aged 69 in October
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and former prime minister Gordon Brown were among the mourners at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh during the public memorial service for former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, who died aged 69 in October (Jeff Mitchell/PA)
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