IT is not the sort of holiday which will appeal to sunseekers or those looking for a relaxing break, but it does offer the chance to get hands-on experience of history.
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is offering those with an interest in the past an opportunity to build a replica house fit for a 17th-century crofter – complete with turf roof and wattle and daub walls.
The project is part of a push to explore the story of Glen Coe and find the “lost” villages which vanished from the map in the aftermath of the infamous massacre of 1692.
Volunteers will help create the type of dwelling used by the glen’s inhabitants on the eve of the attack by government soldiers, which led to the deaths of around 38 men, women and children.
Many of the buildings were put to the torch while livestock were driven off, and settlements which had stood for centuries disappeared from the map.
Now a new “turfhouse”, which would have been familiar to those departed villagers, will rise again in the grounds of the Glencoe Visitor Centre, which reopened last year after a major refurbishment.
Glencoe Operations Manager Emily Bryce
Glencoe Operations Manager Emily Bryce said: “It’s nearly a year since we revamped our Glencoe visitor centre and this project, with the support of public donations, is our next step in sharing the story of this incredible landscape which we are so proud to protect.
“It’s very exciting that we’ll be able to involve the public and visitors in such a hands-on way. We’ll also be working with our local community and schools too, and are keen to make sure that the whole area benefits from this project.”
Glen Coe was the scene of one of the clan era’s most notorious episodes in Scottish history, when the British state conspired with local chiefs to attack the MacDonald clan who called the glen their home over their failure to pledge allegiance to King William III in time.
Soldiers from the Earl of Argyll’s regiment, who had been staying in the glen and enjoying the famous Highland hospitality of its inhabitants, suddenly turned on their hosts on the morning of February 13, 1692.
Dozens were slaughtered while many more were driven over the bleak hills in the dead of winter, where they died from exposure as they fled ill-clothed and unprepared.
In the years that followed the area was largely given over to sheep farming, with the remaining inhabitants forced to move elsewhere.
The Trust has been investigating three villages which were abandoned during that time – Inverigan, Achnacon and Achtriochtan – and the reconstructed turfhouse will be used to highlight the way their inhabitants lived, more than 250 years ago.
Archaeologists have been excavating in Glencoe
Holidaymakers who help build the structure will get the chance to work in a wide variety of tasks, including whittling wooden pegs to weaving wattle walls, archaeological excavations and mud daubing.
To oversee the project, NTS has recruited a team with vast experience in traditional building methods, while archaeologists who have explored the area will work on the building’s design.
These specialists in turf-building, heather thatching, wattle and daub, timber creel and cruck frame structures will lead trainees and volunteers over the course of the year in the unique experiment in historical reconstruction.
The project is being made possible thanks to members of the public from around the world who donated to a fundraising appeal last year.
In 2019 the conservation charity that protects Scotland’s national and natural treasures invested over £1m in Glencoe Visitor Centre, transforming the existing eco-friendly buildings into a more modern, immersive and welcoming “gateway” to the world-renowned glen.
The visitor centre has a 50 seat film screening space showing a specially-commissioned film which takes viewers on a 10-minute journey from the glen’s volcanic origins and its tragic past, while also examining its enduring popularity with tourists and outdoor enthusiasts.
A large 3D map and an Info Hub was also installed to help visitors plan their adventures and share advice on how to explore the area responsibly.
The Glencoe Visitor Centre also plays an essential part in generating income to support the NTS’s conservation work in Glencoe National Nature Reserve, where it oversees the protection of more than 14,000 acres of wilderness, including 60km of footpaths and eight Munros.
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