WORLD champions Inveraray and District Pipe Band made a strong start to the competition season with a podium finish at the British Pipe Band Championships last weekend.
The band travelled to Ingliston on Saturday for the first major championship of the year, where they secured third place against some of the top bands in the world.
They finished behind winners Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band and second-placed Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band.
The result marks a positive opening performance for Inveraray and District as they begin another busy year competing at the highest level of the pipe band scene.
The current world champions will miss the next major event, the UK Pipe Band Championships in Belfast, after receiving an invitation to perform two concerts in Chicago on June 12 and 13.
They will return to the competition circuit later this summer, competing at the European Championships in Perth on June 27, followed by the Scottish Championships in Dumbarton on July 25.
The band will then look to defend their title at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on August 14 and 15.
It was also a memorable weekend away from competition, with 20 members of Inveraray and District invited to perform at Glasgow Airport on Sunday morning as part of Scotland’s official send-off ahead of the World Cup.
The band provided a fitting soundtrack as the national squad departed, meeting players including captain Andy Robertson and midfielder John McGinn.
Pipe Major Stuart Liddell MBE was also pictured with the Scotland squad at the aircraft steps before the team headed off for the tournament.
