The Beadbonny Ash

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE BEADBONNY ASH (J8x32) 3C (4C set) June Parker Kauri Collection

1- 8 1s+2s set, dance RH across ½ way, set and cross RH
9-16 2M+1L+3M advance, Balance-in-Line and retire while 2L+1M+3L advance and Balance-in-Line
17-24 2L+1M+3L dance reel of 3 up/down middle (1M RSh to 3L to start) and end on sides
25-32 2M+1L+3M dance reel of 3 up/down middle (1L RSh to 2M to start) and end on sides

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Dance Information

The phrase "beadbonny ash" originates from the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, specifically in his work "Inversnaid" written in 1881.

Hopkins was known for his inventive use of language, often creating compound words to capture the unique qualities of the natural world. "Bonny" means attractive or fair, "bead" refers to the berries of the ash tree.

Within the Inversnaid - Poem, the ash tree is depicted as standing above a burn, the Scots word for a stream, surrounded by heath and fern.

Degged with dew, dappled with dew
Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads through,
Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern,
And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.

Inversnaid Poem - Information Video

Loch Lomond Falls Of Inversnaid, Unknown Author, c. 1903

This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources.
Text from this original Inversnaid article on Wikimedia.
Image from (cropped) See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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