Hundreds of students take part in traditional May Dip

Hundreds of University of St Andrews students gathered at the East Sands at dawn today (Wednesday 1 May 2024) 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. As fog descended over St Andrews, students braved the chilly waters to take part in the annual tradition.

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 May Dip is also the only cure for the legendary curse of Patrick Hamilton.

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

This year, the traditional Gaudie took a different route using the lower cross pier due to storm damage on the main pier. Students gathered on the East Sands following the Gaudie.

The annual Gaudie takes place on the 30th 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 and lay a wreath at the site of the shipwreck.