At the ‘craic’ of whatever o’clock we headed out to explore the Glen Coe visitors centre to find out more about this beautiful part of the world and it was well worth the trip. It told of the history of the area and in particular the mountains and conservation work that had been done to keep the mountains wild…

To the extent that a founding member would, back in the day, kick over cairns and such like in disgust if he wandered past one. The tales of gentleman climbers of a bygone era both fascinated and lent even more romance to the area.

We took a guided tour with a very informative, if somewhat haphazard in his delivery (which, no surprise annoyed Katrine, no end) national trust guide. We heard once again about the Glen Coe massacre of 1692 and how the Campbell’s, under the orders of the Scottish government, had massacred the MacLeod’s for failing to pledge allegiance to the William III. The killings were made all the more terrible given it was a massacre ‘under trust’. The government forces had been guests of the MacLeod’s for 12 days and had broken bread and shared whisky.

A sacred highland code had been cast asunder and the MacLeod’s were murdered in cold blood. The event inspired George R.R. Martin’s ‘Red Wedding’ in the book (and Game of Thrones TV show) a Storm of Swords.

Nonetheless many of the soldiers disobeyed orders and refused to break the sacred oath. Still, the massacre is still very much alive in the hearts and minds of the locals as signs such as “No Hawker’s or Campbell’s”

The tour (and history lesson) included a visit to the only existing turf house in the UK and an interesting insight into the lives of the peoples of the time.

On the tour we met a family from Michigan, who we shared a table with in the cafe and got chatting too. Lovely, lovely people. During our chat about culture, hiking and a little bit of politics…, out of the blue, their eldest son gifted us with a baseball ball. Very touching. I always like to say that travel is about the people, sometimes more than the place.

Leaving the visitors centre and happenchance friends behind, we jumped in our wee car and made for the Highlands. Specifically an area made famous by no other than 007. not a patch on Connery’s efforts, Skyfall did feature Glen Coe and we (I) decided it would be fun to visit the ‘Skyfall road’ which we did. It was great.

Back at our lovely inn we ate, watched the band of the night over a local beer then retired to our room to watch Highlander! Which also featured Glen Coe and Eliean Donnan.

Katrine loved the movie. Especially me reciting Sean Connery’s lines. Epic. I intend to introduce her to many, many more Scottish epics soon. She can’t wait.