Glencoe
“Stern, rugged, precipitous mountains with beautiful peaks and rocks piled high one above the other, two and three thousand feet high, tower and rise up to the heavens on either side.”
In the Scottish Highlands, it is not only possible to stand in stunned silence at the beauty of one place, but rather likely you will travel to another and find yourself even more compelled by the loveliness of this new place then the last.
Such was the case with Glencoe, some 30 minutes south of Fort William. Glencoe is possibly Scotland's most famous glen (deep valley), named after the River Coe that runs through it.
As described by Queen Victoria, Glencoe is dominated by towering mountains visible wherever you turn. The most famous of these are the Three Sisters (sorry, I wish I had taken that photo), which ensure every lay-by (turnout) on A82 is packed with cars and overflowing with tourists snapping photos of the beautiful sisters.
Our home for Sunday and Monday nights was the Clachaig Inn. Their motto is Real People. Real Hospitality. Real Craic.
You may recall from one of our posts in Ireland that craic translates roughly into a good time, a fun experience, or a friendly conversation. Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall are all Celtic nations, so there are many commonalities to be found.
Glencoe is know to three things: the tragic Massacre of Glencoe, early mountaineering, and everyone’s favorite half-giant, half-human Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts.
Massacre of Glencoe
The Highland people were once the majority of Scotland’s population—a military, tribal, and feudal society that had no interest in adapting to a changing world.
Lowlanders, on the other hand, largely supported political union between England and Scotland, and regarded Highlanders as an obstacle to progresses. Many Lowlanders believed that the independent spirit of the Highlanders had to be broken.
The MacDonalds of Glencoe were victims of what Highlanders called Mi-run mor nan Gall, the Lowlanders great hatred.
(Map by Jrockley. Public Domain.)
The Macdonald Memorial.
At the time, many Highland clans posed a possible threat to the new regime in London under King William of Orange. To secure support, it was ordered that chiefs must sign an oath of allegiance to King William, or the clans would be punished with the “utmost extremity of the law.”
Some clans were already bound by another oath to James Stuart, the deposed King who was by then in France—an oath they weren’t released for a few days before the cut off point for the King William ultimatum.
Secretary of State John Dalrymple, Master of Stair, who was a Lowlander and a Protestant, used the predicament to serve his own political ends. He viewed Highlanders as a hindrance to Scotland and disagreed with their whole way of life. His dislike for the MacDonalds of Glencoe was particularly strong.
King William and Dalrymple decided to make an example of the MacDonalds. They sent three commanders—two from the Campbell-dominated Argyll regiment and one from Fort William—to meet the MacDonalds at Glencoe with the expectation they carry out a slaughter of the MacDonalds; however, two companies of soldiers never arrived due to bad weather. Some historians believe this was a deliberate act of defiance to avoid being involved in the atrocity.
A drenching rain falls on the Macdonald Memorial.
Two companies totalling around 120 men, from the Earl of Argyll’s regiment, but led by Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, arrived in Glencoe in late January. They were “quartered” by the MacDonalds, meaning they were given bed and board, for almost two weeks, without any idea of what the regiment truly intended to carry out. Although hospitality like this was traditional in the Highlands, in reality the villagers had little choice.
Then, on the evening of February 12, 1692, Glenlyon and the other officers received orders to destroy the MacDonald clan: “You are hereby ordered to fall upon the Rebells, the McDonalds of Glenco, and putt all to the sword under Seventy.”
At 5:00 the following morning, while most were asleep, Glenlyon’s men were given the signal and attacked.
The first man killed was Chieftain Maclain, before the attackers went up and down the glen killing anyone under the age of 70, including women and children. In total 38 men, women, and children were slaughtered.
Some were alerted to the coming events by merciful Campbells and managed to gather belongings to protect them from the cold and flee their homes. However, an estimated further 40 women and children died of winter exposure after their homes were torched.
The events shocked the country and became a powerful piece of anti-government propaganda for the Jacobites in Edinburgh. Although it’s the Campbells who are most associated with the massacre of the MacDonalds, it was less an issue of clan rivalry than it was a plot by the government to bring Highland clans into line behind King William.
The whole sorry episode proved to be a turning point in Scotland’s history, because it laid to rest any notions that the new monarch served both nations equally.
But what made the whole thing so unforgivable was the base violation of the rules of hospitality.
Since the late 20th century the Clachaig Inn, where we’re staying, has had a sign at the reception desk that reads, “No Hawkers (Solicitors) or Campbells.”
The massacre became the subject of many poems and songs. Author George R. R. Martin cites the Glencoe Massacre as one of two historical influences on the infamous "Red Wedding" in his 2000 book A Storm of Swords.
In the television series Mad Men, it is implied that the Campbell–MacDonald feud is still active as of 1970, when Pete Campbell’s daughter is rejected from an elite New York preschool headed by a MacDonald.
Sources: https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/looking-back-the-massacre-of-glencoe-1483135 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe
Mountaineering
The Clachaig Inn logo features The Three Sisters, but there are images of mountaineering and ice climbing all over the building, including the Boots Bar.
In the mid-1800s outdoor exploration became hugely popular and Glencoe became a mecca for “gentlemen’s climbing clubs” and other outdoor enthusiasts. As far back as at least 1864, the Clachaig Inn served those seeking adventure in the mountains around the Glen.
Boots Bar
We were fortunate to be staying at the Inn on a Sunday night (Jul 2) when the Boots Bar hosts local musicians playing folk music. If you can play an instrument, they welcome anyone to join in—sounds like it has your name written all over it Matt! Here’s a quick complication of the Sunday Sessions: https://youtu.be/pqcbrFl4mvo
Hagrid’s Hut
If you look on Google Maps, not only does the Clachaig Inn display, but someone has gone to great lengths to ensure that the site of Hagrid’s Hut was also included as a historical monument.
For the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, an elaborate outdoor set was constructed at this very site in Glencoe.
The third film was the first to extensively use real-life locations. It’s a bit hard to imagine now because filming took place twenty years ago (my how time flys!). What is now a hillside largely covered in ferns, was then grassy slopes.
Nevertheless, Amanda is standing where Hagid’s full-scale abode was constructed over the rocks just to her right.
Behind Amanda you can still make out the path that descended from the castle and the stone circle. The stone circle and castle entrance was up the hill on the plateau near the copse of pine trees on the right.
Looking down on where the stone circle stood. The castle door was built in the trees to the left. Amanda is roughly where Hermione punched Malfoy. The hut is just out of view below.
Looking down from where the stone circle stood. You can see people walking on path that Harry, Hermione, and Ron (and later Fudge, Dumbledore, and the executioner) took from the standing stones to reach Hagrid’s hut in the clearing below. The trees where Harry and Hermione hid are on the right.
If you’re interested, here are the clips filmed at this location.
Scene 1—Hermione punches Malfoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2ZfDph1pE
Scene 2—Buckbeak is executed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3DG7p0ZJy8
Scene 3—Buckbeak is rescued: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYWgSLAmOHg
The stone wall for the set was dismantled and discarded under the nearby pine trees.
Looking into the trees where Harry and Hermione hid.
Hermione’s tree (the two fallen trees were obviously not there during the filming 20 years ago).
Harry’s tree
Those Crazy Scots
Mmm! 😋
The entire Glencoe valley is so wild and wonderfully beautiful. If you ever make it to this neck of the world, it is certainly somewhere worth visiting…even if you’re not a Potterhead! 😂
