Teenager wins stone skimming world championships in Easdale

Crowds gathered to watch competitors skim slate stones on Easdale

A Scot has brought home a win at the World Stone Skimming Championships - the first to have taken place since 2019.

The competition, first held on the tiny Hebridean isle of Easdale in 1983, was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

Small pieces of the island's slate are ideal for skimming over a distance across water.

The person who can skim a stone the furthest distance before it sinks wins.

Finn Dower age 16 from Perthshire won the competition on Sunday.

The event was brought forward an hour earlier amid forecasts for rain.

Spectators from as far afield as Australia were treated to performances from the Absurdist Pipe Band ahead of the medal ceremony.

Easdale's slate is ideal for skimming

Easdale is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn where stone was quarried for roofing slate from the 17th Century to the early 20th Century.

A flooded former quarry is used for the championships, which is run by volunteers.

The competition was restricted to 350 entrants.

The competition is held on Easdale, one of the Slate Islands

Easdale, 17 miles (27km) from Oban, has a population of about 70 people.

The championships are a major fundraiser for the community, and take place around the end of its usual tourist season.

The championships are open to all ages and abilities, and in previous years has attracted entrants from all over the world.

Each competitor is allowed three skims, and their stones must bounce at least twice.