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In Pictures: The best images from Scotland in 2020

A look back at some of the best pictures in a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
A look back at some of the best pictures in a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. A look back at some of the best pictures in a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party ensured that 2020 began with a bang in Scotland, although the coronavirus pandemic meant that it was not business as usual from March onwards.

Animals, celestial events and Prime Minister Boris Johnson feature in the best images PA news agency photographers have captured north of the border in the past 12 months.

New Year 2020 celebrations
New Year 2020 celebrations Fireworks are launched from Edinburgh Castle at midnight during the Hogmanay New Year celebrations (Jane Barlow/PA)
Up Helly Aa Viking festival
Up Helly Aa Viking festival Members of the Jarl Squad in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles during the Up Helly Aa Viking festival in January (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Cyclist on quiet Glasgow street
Cyclist on quiet Glasgow street A cyclist makes his way up a quiet St Vincent Street in Glasgow as the UK entered lockdown in March to help curb the spread of the coronavirus (Andrew Milligan/PA)
The Kelpies
The Kelpies The Kelpies in Falkirk are lit up in blue in a weekly gesture of thanks to the hardworking NHS staff trying to battle coronavirus (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Penguin
Penguin A Humboldt penguin walks through spraying water at Blair Drummond Safari Park, Stirling, on World Penguin Day in April (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Bass Rock lighthouse
Bass Rock lighthouse The sun rises over Bass Rock lighthouse in the Firth of Forth near North Berwick, East Lothian (Jane Barlow/PA)
People jog through tunnel
People jog through tunnel People taking their daily exercise pass underneath the rainbow mural in Colinton Tunnel, Edinburgh, as the UK continued in lockdown in April (Jane Barlow/PA)
Piper on beach
Piper on beach Piper Louise Marshall plays at dawn along Edinburgh’s Portobello Beach overlooking the Firth of Forth on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in May (Jane Barlow/PA)
Giraffe
Giraffe A giraffe pokes its head out from its enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling in June (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds crabs caught on the Carvela at Stromness Harbour during a visit to the Highlands and Northern Isles in July (Robert Perry/PA)
Comet Neowise
Comet Neowise Comet Neowise in the skies above the Forth Bridge, South Queensferry (Jane Barlow/PA)
Train accident scene
Train accident scene Investigators working at the scene of a derailment near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, which cost the lives of three people in August (Jane Barlow/PA)
Edinburgh skyline lit up
Edinburgh skyline lit up The sky above Edinburgh Castle is lit up by My Light Shines On, an outdoor light installation for the 2020 Edinburgh International Festival in August (Jane Barlow/PA)
Halloween skeletons in Edinburgh restaurant
Halloween skeletons in Edinburgh restaurant Chris Doherty, owner of Hemingway’s in Edinburgh, decorated his empty restaurant with skeletons in October as it remain closed during a coronavirus lockdown (Jane Barlow/PA)
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle Stirling Castle surrounded by trees displaying their autumn colours (Jane Barlow/PA)
Students take Covid tests
Students take Covid tests Students get a Covid-19 test at a mass testing centre set up at the sports centre at St Andrews University, ahead of the Christmas holiday (Jane Barlow/PA)
Girl stands in light tunnel
Girl stands in light tunnel Karis Milligan, nine, in the light tunnel at the launch of Edinburgh Zoo’s Christmas Nights (Andrew Milligan/PA)