Is the Burry Man really real?
Yes, he’s really really real. The current Burry Man — for ten years now — is John Nicol, the graphic designer for Hibs Football Club, who was born in Queensferry and whose parents still live there. He does the Burry Man walk on the second Friday in August, the day before the Ferry Fair, starting at 9 am, with the burrs, flowers, whisky… everything, and all we Ferry Folk are enormously grateful to him. The Burry Man means a lot to us and it’s certainly not easy. Q: Do you have your own Dalmatian? A: No — I don’t have a dog and have never had one. What I do have is two black cats, Dennis Buggitt and Rachel, who were preceded by Spud (cat of my life), Poppy, Carrie, Clive, Maggie, Arthur and Tabitha, starting when I was about three and a half. The fact that Dandy is a dog lover and I’m a cat lover is what usually convinces people once and for all that’s she’s not me. The Dalmatian standing beside me in the picture on this site is the delightful Lucy Templeton, dog of Aline Templeton, a fe
