Highland 2007
Words: Julie Alpine Brush up on your Robert Burns, tie a tartan ribbon in your hair and tell Nessie you’re coming. This summer, north of the border, you’ll find celebrations and special events galore to mark Scotland’s year of Highland culture DEEP IN THE MURKY WATERS of Scotland’s Loch Ness, the world-famous monster might be forgiven for feeling a little worried. For Nessie, [...]
Words: Julie Alpine
Brush up on your Robert Burns, tie a tartan ribbon in your hair and
tell Nessie you’re coming. This summer, north of the border, you’ll
find celebrations and special events galore to mark Scotland’s year of
Highland culture
alt="Scotland Highland Games Events and Entertainment"
class="picright">DEEP
IN
THE MURKY WATERS of Scotland’s Loch Ness, the world-famous
monster might be forgiven for feeling a little worried. For Nessie, who
has long felt secure in the knowledge that she can still pull in the
crowds (and an estimated £5m of tourist revenue into the area
annually), is being forced to share the limelight this year. And what
diva wouldn’t get cold feet about sharing the star billing with monster
of rock himself, Sir Elton John?
But it’s not just Sir Elton’s forthcoming concert at Inverness
Caledonian Stadium on 15 July his first in the Highlands
that will be bumping up the visitor numbers to the area. Back
in 2003, when Scotland’s First Minister Jack McConnell announced that
Inverness had lost out to Liverpool in the battle to be the European
Capital of Culture in 2008, any disappointment was short-lived, as
McConnell went on to declare that, instead, 2007 would be “Scotland’s
Year of Highland Culture”. Thus, the idea of “Highland 2007″ was born,
its aims being to promote the Highlands as a great place to live and
visit and to provide a year-long programme of events celebrating
Highland culture. The schedule runs to hundreds of pages, and
encompasses everything from nature trails to food festivals, marathons
to art exhibitions, Gaelic lessons to Viking re-enactments.
Remarkably, given that it is part of the crowded island of Britain, the
average population density in the Highlands and Islands is lower than
that of Sweden, Norway, Argentina or Papua New Guinea. The Highlands
(A’ Ghàidhealtachd in Gaelic) include the mountainous
regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, with
the Great Glen dividing the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from
the Northwest Highlands. From the unrivalled peat bog expanses of the
Caithness Flow Country to the Arctic Cairngorm plateau; the sweeping
heather-dotted glens; peat-brown waters and white sand beaches; the
unique light; the wide open spaces and the rich and varied local flora
and fauna, there can be fewer destinations more perfect for those who
want to get away from it all. And this summer, thanks to the
smorgasbord of Highland 2007 events on offer, visitors can explore the
rural charms of the region as well as taking in some of the best
entertainment to be found anywhere in the UK. Here are voyager’s top
recommendations for what to do if you’re in the Highlands this summer.
For further information on the full Highland 2007 programme, see
www.highland2007.com
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
alt="Scotland Highland Games Events and Entertainment"
class="picleft">The battlefield of Culloden
has long been an iconic
site for the Scots, marking the last pitched battle to be fought on
British soil. To commemorate the place where so many lives were lost
when the Jacobite army faced the Government troops, the National Trust
for Scotland has developed a new visitor centre. Positioned to minimise
its impact on the battlefield, the centre has been built using
environmental design principles, with locally sourced wood chips
fuelling a Biomass boiler plant to provide the heating (which, touch
wood, there won’t be much use for during the summer months).
Retrace the footsteps of the real “Bravehearts” by visiting a new
exhibition, which takes visitors on an emotionally charged journey
through history. Hear voices from the past bring the story to life,
interact with living history, touch ancient artifacts and gain a new
understanding of why the events of 16 April 1746 remain deeply
ingrained and significant, even today, in the consciousness of the
Scottish people.
ENJOY A HIGHLAND FLING
alt="Scotland Highland Games Events and Entertainment"
class="picright">For those who have not yet
experienced a traditional
Highland games, it is impossible to imagine the majesty of a multitude
of pipe bands playing simultaneously, the sound of the booming drums
and bagpipe melodies swelling to the heavens. Or to understand how easy
a well-trained (and extremely burly) athlete can make it look to toss
an 80-130lb (35-60kg) caber high into the air. Or to believe the number
of intricate highland dance steps even the youngest of children, or
“bairns”, in the local lingo, can remember as they twirl over their
crossed swords in kilts and full Highland regalia.
This year’s Tulloch Inverness Highland Games (21-22 July) will play
host to a full programme of field athletics and music and dance in the
traditional music tent, as well as to Scotland’s biggest interclan
gathering of 2007 in the Clan Village, a pipe band competition, craft
stalls, Highland dancing competitions and armed forces displays. On top
of all this, for the first time in over a decade, the World Highland
Games Championships are returning home to Scotland. In a true clash of
the titans, the top 12 heavies from across the globe will be battling
it out to decide who is the best Highland games athlete of them all.
Watch in wonder, and then go and see if it’s not too late to sign up
for the sack race.
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
alt="Scotland Highland Games Events and Entertainment"
class="picleft"> If you’re determined
to go home with a snap
of the elusive Nessie (or to make a killing by selling one on eBay),
your best bet would be to start off at the Original Loch Ness Visitor
Centre. The first documented sighting of a creature in the loch was by
St Columba in the 6th century AD. If you’re curious about what
Scotland’s answer to Big Foot has been up to between then and now, an
exhibition at the Centre presents you with upto-the-minute facts and
fully documented evidence from photographs, descriptions and film
footage, together with an account of the area’s historical background.
There’s also a spacious coffee shop and restaurant and a gift shop
selling Nessie novelties as well as non-monster-related Scottish
souvenirs. Real super-sleuths might prefer to take to the water, on a
special one-hour cruise that leaves from Urquhart Bay Harbour
(pictured), bookable in the Centre’s Celtic Crafts gift shop. A
commentary, available in several languages, covers all aspects of the
Loch Ness phenomenon, while the boat, Nessie Hunter, is equipped with
radar, colour sonar, GPS and underwater cameras and video/DVD
equipment. During the cruise, children can sit at the wheel to have
their picture taken. The Original Loch Ness Visitor Centre,
Drumnadrochit, Inverness, IV63 6TU, +44 (0)1456 450342;
www.lochness-centre.com
St Kilda, an
archipelago situated 64km westnorthwest of North Uist, is one of the
best places in Britain for diving because of its clear water and its
submerged
caves, tunnels and arches.
IMAGINE
alt="Scotland Highland Games Events and Entertainment"
class="picleft">John Lennon spent
long summer holidays in Durness, Sutherland, between the ages of nine
and 14. The area inspired the seminal song In My Life, and the Beatle
later returned to the Highlands with wife Yoko Ono, son Julian and
Ono’s daughter Kyoko.
Photography:
Getty/Keystone/Stringer, Getty
Photography:
Steve Vidler/Superstock
Photography:
Scottish Viewpoint/Alamy
