This weekend, Jake, Kim, Matt and I went to the Highlands! The Highlands are basically the northern part of Scotland, called this because of their mountainous terrain. They are a lot colder than the midlands (where the Uni is), very dry, and basically tundra. They are about 400ft about sea level. Some of the more well-known places are Inverness, Glencoe, and of course Loch Ness.
We went with HAGGIS, a group which takes you on buses for about 26L for a twelve hour tour. They also do 3, 5, and 7 day tours. We took the 12 hour tour on Saturday. We met at 8:15am at the Royal Mile and began our journey.
Our guide's name was Doug, or Doogie, and he was really excellent. He knew a lot of history about Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland, and he was funny. He was a great story-teller, so we had a lot of fun listening to the history of Scotland.
Our first big story came as we passed the Edinburgh Zoo and he told us about a primary school teacher he knows whose five year old students stole a baby penguin during the penguin march, which the zoo does daily. Obviously this story has little to do with the history of the country, but it was interesting nonetheless.
We did learn about the many kings and queens of Scotland. Did you know Scotland actually took over English, placing James VI as James I in London? In fact, most people think that England took over Scotland, but this is false. Queen Elizabeth II actually has three titles, but she ignores her Scottish title as Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland.
Anyway, as we passed Stirling, Doug told us the TRUE story of "Braveheart." Actually, William Wallace was NOT called Braveheart, and the movie is pretty much bull. But still, good film. He played the "They can take our lives, but they cannot take our FREEEDOM" speech by Gibson in the movie while we wound through the green hills. Then he told us the true story.
The king of England and Scotland at the time murdered full villages of men, women and children, as a sign of what he would do to people who disobeyed his rule. So most people did as he said. But Wallace refused to bend to his whim. He was an outlaw for killing some English soldiers, and eventually other men joined him. Seeing this, and hoping to bring him into a trap, one of the higher-ups kidnapped his wife, who was supposedly pregnant with Wallace's first child, and killed her (supposedly...whether or not he was married is still disputed...thanks John).
Wallace's men tied him to a tree for three days to keep him from rushing into the trap.
But basically that's when all hell broke loose. Stirling is famous because of the Wallace Monument, which stands on the hillside where Wallace planned his biggest attack of the English. They led 10,000 troops over a bridge, which they had rigged, and pulled it down behind them, trapping them on their turf. Then Wallace and his men slaughtered them all. Supposedly the river ran red with blood for weeks afterward.
Wallace was finally caught. He was hanged but kept alive, then drawn and quartered, then had his guts ripped out and cooked in front of him. Finally, when he was dead, the king had his head on a post at London Bridge and hacked his body into 4 parts, delivered to the 4 corners of Scotland. But, while this was meant to scare people into behaving, it failed. A prospective king of Scotland was so disgusted by England that he began to help the Scots and took up Wallace's place.
Our next big stop was Glencoe. The hills are called the "Glen of Tears" because of a treacherous slaughter that took place by the Campbells. Basically, all Scots were supposed to sign a treaty agreeing total loyalty to the new king, or else their entire clan would be wiped out. This was a war between Protestants and Jacobites. The MacDonalds were Jacobites and did not want to sign the treaty, but if they did not sign by Jan. 1, they would all die. So, the clan chief went to sign the treaty at the last minute, but in snow he got lost. He arrived 6 days late, but he did sign it.
When the king saw the treaty, one of his attendants pointed out that MacDonald had signed late. The king sent an army of Campbells, who were Scottish and lived near the MacDonald clan and staunch Protestants, to MacDonald's land in Glencoe to kill the entire village. However, when they arrived at night, it was snowy and freezing. There is an unwritten law in Scotland...hospitality. If anyone, even a foe, turns up on your doorstep in bad weather, you MUST house and feed them. The law is meant to save lives.
The enemy arrived Feb. 1. For 12 days they stayed with the MacDonalds. Then, on the 13th, a gunshot in the morning signaled the army to rise up and murder everyone...and they did. 38 died in their beds, and the rest fled to the hills. In below freezing temps, in nigtgowns, and pitch black, women and men herded their children up the rocky mountainside (the hills are about 90-degree angles, too, very steep). Most died from exposure.
There are many slaughters like this, but this was an outrageous one because the Campbells had taken advantage of the hospitality law, eaten with and slept in the homes of the MacDonalds before they rose up and murdered them. There is an inn in Glencoe with a sign that reads "No hawkers, no Campbells" and they really WILL turn away anyone with the last name Campbell. This was hundreds of years ago, but it is such a taboo to misuse the law of hospitality, which was mean to save lives.
That story gave me goosebumps when Doug told it. We all took photos. I couldn't imagine people trying to run away in freezing temps in those hills.
We then continued on. We stopped at a whiskey distillery and we all got samples. I bought some whiskey honey liqueor which was really delicious. Our final stop was Loch Ness. We learned the lochs along the way (13,000 something lochs in Scotland and only one is called a "lake" by the way). Loch Lochie, Loch Lenny, Loch Oich, Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 900ft deep at its deepest point, 32 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point. There is proof of prehistoric trout, etc, in the lake, and minimal proof that 18 animals weighing about 3 tons each do live in the loch. At 15 ft deep you get permadark...no sunlight can penetrate deeper than that.
Basically what I'm saying is that it is entirely possible that the loch, while connected to the ocean, allowed in some prehistoric-type beast which, now that the ocean and the loch are separate bodies of water, is stuck there. I can totally believe there is a "nessie" there, but we saw no sign (no surprising, really, by the size and darkness of the water). Not a monster, really, but a very large sea creature resembling prehistoric dinosaurs of some sort.
Anyway, after Loch Ness we made our way home. I fell asleep on the bus. When we got back, Matt and I made dinner, then booked our flights for Spring break (Barcelona, Marseille/Aix-En-Provence, Rome, Venice, and Florence) and watched part of The Stand (Ross has great taste in books and movies and let me borrow it).
I have 3 papers due within the next two weeks, a project due Friday, reading due Monday and Tuesday, and basically I'm starting to stress out. But I go to Ireland on the 15 of March so I'm just counting down to that.
The Highlands are really gorgeous, mysterious, and full of history. I love Scotland for its history; everywhere you go there is a story of bloodshed, deceit, and passion. It's amazing.
Time do to some real work!
Perhaps we will hike Glencoe on Saturday, if I can finish at least one paper before then!
-A-
