Before you come
A couple dancing close under strings of warm lights in a barn, people watching from the tables behind.

A ceilidh in a barn, and every dance is taught first

First Saturday of the month, eight till midnight. Live band, a caller, soup at half time. No partner and no experience needed.

Get tickets for October

Nobody knows the steps, and it doesn't matter

A hay barn · a hundred and twenty people · one very patient caller

Before each dance the caller walks the whole room through it, slowly, twice. Then the band starts, and you'll get it wrong for a verse and right by the end, because whoever you're dancing with will turn you the right way.

People come alone and leave with a set of eight. Children come with parents and dance with everyone. The barn is on a working farm, so it smells faintly of hay and there are bales to sit on between sets.

When

First Saturday, every month
20:00 — 00:00

Where

Long Barn, Hill Farm
off the Kelso road

Tickets

£14, under-16s £6
on the door if there's room

A couple in white spinning mid-dance in front of a brick wall with round windows. Two women laughing and dancing together on a dark floor, fairy lights behind. A woman and an older man playing fiddles side by side on an outdoor stage in golden light. A black and white photo of a fiddler in a flat cap and sunglasses grinning as he plays.

October's dances

In roughly this order. The caller changes it if the room is tired, or if it's clearly having too much fun.

Gay Gordonscouples, gentle

Strip the Willowlong sets, fast

Circassian Circleeveryone, a big ring

Dashing White Sergeantthrees

Soup, and a sit downabout 22:00

Canadian Barn Dancecouples, swapping

Virginia Reellong sets

Cumberland Square Eighteights, the fast one

Orcadian Strip the Willowfor the brave

Last waltzwhoever's nearest

If you'd rather watch a dance, sit on a bale. If you'd rather dance every one, stand near the caller and you'll be pulled in.

An acoustic guitar, a banjo, a mandolin and a fiddle laid out on the grass.

The four bands

They take turns through the year. All four have played for dancers for longer than for listeners, which is a different job.

A street band with a fiddle, guitar and double bass playing against a pale wall.

The Lintie

Fiddle, guitar, bass. Fast and loud; they play the Strip the Willow twice as long as anyone.

A black and white photo of a six-piece string band with banjo, double bass and fiddle on a small stage.

Hill Road

Six of them, with a banjo. The band for October and anyone's birthday.

A black and white photo of two fiddlers playing on a bench outdoors.

Two Bows

A pair of fiddles and a caller who plays too. The quietest, and the best waltzes.

A black and white photo of a fiddler with a guitarist close behind him.

The Steadings

Fiddle and guitar, both over seventy, both farmers. They've played this barn since it was a barn.

Before you come

What to wear
Something you can spin in and shoes with a bit of grip. The floor is boards over concrete; heels are a bad idea and trainers are fine.
On your own
Most dances are in sets, not couples, and the caller finds partners for anyone standing still. Nobody sits out unless they want to.
Children
Very welcome with a grown-up, and they're often the best dancers there by ten o'clock.
Food and drink
Soup and bread at the interval, included. A bar run by the farm for beer, cider and squash; card or cash.
Getting home
A minibus to the station and the village at midnight, £3. Taxis don't come out this far after eleven.
Access
The barn is on one level with a ramp and a proper toilet. Parking on the grass, with a torch at the gate.