Tarragona 2025

The Barcelona Scottish Country Dancers were the hosts of the 29th Iberian Gathering of Scottish Country Dancing in the historic city of Tarragona from 7th to 9th March 2025. 

 THERE ARE PHOTOS AND LINKS TO VIDEOS AND PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE (Note that photos and videos are still being added)

Below is a list of the dances taught by Helen Russell in the classes (the instructions for the unpublished dances will be added soon to the strathspey server database https://my.strathspey.org/dd/ , if they have not already been added) :

Trip to Gatlinburg J 8x32 Shenzhang Tang 1994

The Silver Lagoon S 8x32 Olivia Roberts (unpublished)

A Trip to Tarragona R 3x32 or 8x32 Helen Russell 2025 (unpublished)

Uncle Bill's Jig J 8x32 Roy Goldring, Graded and social Dances 3

Miss Stevenson's Fancy S 8x32 Derek Haynes Carnforth Collection 3

Joppa Rocks R 8x32 Alex Gray Edinburgh Branch Centenary book

A Jig for Scotia Shores J 8x32 Helen Russell 2024 (unpublished)

A Walk in the Dark S 3x32 Helen Russell (unpublished)

The Duran Ranger R 8x32 RSCDS book 13

 BELOW IS THE INFORMATION WHICH WAS GIVEN TO PARTICIPANTS AND WOULD-BE PARTICIPANTS BEFORE THE WEEKEND, AND KEPT HERE JUST FOR REFERENCE.

Please scroll to the bottom of the page for the dance programmes! The detailed schedule for the Weekend is here. There is updated (v2!) information here about local restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies, medical services etc., near the hotel .  

Tarragona is located on the Costa Daurada, about 100 km south of Barcelona. The city used to be a major Roman city known as Tarraco and owing to its well-preserved Roman ruins, it is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage city. Tarragona’s traditional fishing district, el Serrallo, is known for its charming harbour and seafood restaurants. The Miracle and the Arrabassada beaches, within walking distance, are perfect for relaxing and enjoying the Mediterranean sun. Tarragona is also very close to the Port Aventura Leisure Park.

Tarragona is connected by bus from Barcelona and Reus airports, and by bus and train from Barcelona city and other Spanish cities. The bus station in Tarragona is directly connected to our hotel (for hotel details, please see below). There are two terminals at Barcelona airport, Terminals 1 and 2. Buses depart from and arrive at both terminals, and the journey takes about one hour and 20 mins (slightly less from terminal 1). There is a link to the bus timetable for weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays here, with yellow highlighting to help you find the right part; note that the journey can take longer on Sundays due to traffic. The timetable is valid until April 2025 and current prices are 15,95€ single, 28,95€ return, obtainable from the driver (but cash only and exact money best) or bookable in advance from https://www.busplana.com/en/bookings#/  There is also a train service between Barcelona and Tarragona. At airport Terminal 2 there is a train station called "Aeroport" but it is not possible to go directly to Tarragona from there, you should go to Barcelona Sants central station and then take a train to Tarragona.

The event was held at SB Ciutat de Tarragona 4* Hotel, situated in the city centre, near the bus station. The hotel offers quality bedrooms, a large ballroom for our exclusive use, its renowned restaurant and a bar,  open till 2 a.m.. If you come by car,  you may park in the hotel's car park at a cost of 17 euros per day. Unfortunately parking on the street is only free after 8 pm or on Sundays.

The excellent duo of Marian Anderson (accordion) and Max Ketchin (drums) played for us and the outstanding Helen Russell was our teacher. The piper for the Grand March was David Vivanco.

The cost for the whole weekend including accommodation for 2 nights, 2 breakfasts, 2 dinners (including drinks), 2 balls, walkthroughs and 2 classes with live music was €250 per person for a double room and €320 for a single room. A few triple rooms were available on request at 225€ per person. A deposit of €100 was  required by 20th October 2024 and the balance by 20th January 2025.

EXTRA NIGHTS: People who wished to spend extra nights at the venue hotel before and/or after the Iberian Weekend, were asked to request these when making their booking, even though (unlike the fees above), they only had to be paid for on arrival at the hotel.  The prices for extra nights (bed and breakfast) were: 94 euros per night for a single room, 105 euros per night for a double room, and 130 euros per night for a triple room. A tourist tax was payable for those staying extra nights of 1,32 euros per person per night (This was only for extra nights: this tax was included in the Gathering global price for the nights of March 7th and 8th) EXTRA MEALS:  Those wishing to have lunch at the hotel (or dinner on the days before and after the Gathering), were able to take advantage of a set menu from Monday to Friday costing 21,50 €.

Cancellation policy: From 20th October to 14th February, full refund to a maximum of 13 cancellations. No refund after 15th February unless a replacement person can be found. Full refund at any time if there is a  replacement from the waiting list. The organisers pledged to do their best to give a refund in case of emergency cancellation but suggested that all participants have a personal travel insurance including medical coverage.

The organizers asked that bookings from Iberians be centralized through each local Iberian group. Non-Iberians who wish to come to the Weekend were kindly requested to associate themselves with one of the Iberian groups. There is a list of Iberian groups on this page  Alternatively, non-Iberians were able to contact Magda Ferrer of the organising group at magdafer (a) telefonica.net  (just change (a) to @ to send an email), in order to book directly.  Magda was also the contact for any other questions or enquiries.

Useful links, including to the dance programmes!

Hotel: https://www.hotelciutatdetarragona.com/en/

Tourist info: https://www.tarragonaturisme.cat/en

Dance programmes:

Friday dance programme (pdf for download)

Saturday dance programme (pdf for download)

Links on the strathspey server (gives you access to videos)

Friday: https://my.strathspey.org/dd/list/49246/

Saturday: https://my.strathspey.org/dd/list/49249/

For a pdf with the full instructions for the dance "Barcelona", please click here