This article was originally published by the National Trust for Scotland on January 11th 2018.
World Cup, World Heritage: Explore Special Places Near Boston and Around the Globe
Comments Off on World Cup, World Heritage: Explore Special Places Near Boston and Around the Globe This summer, the world is coming to Massachusetts. With 2026 FIFA World Cup matches scheduled at Gillette Stadium, visitors from across the globe will arrive in Boston and Foxborough to cheer on their teams, celebrate the beautiful game, and experience a little of New England along the way. For those traveling from afar — or for locals looking to make the most of the moment — it is also a wonderful opportunity to explore the historic landscapes, coastal views, woodlands, farms, gardens, and cultural places that make this region so distinctive. Thanks to The Trustees of Reservations, Massachusetts is home to 120 special places that protect the state’s natural, cultural, and historic heritage. And for National Trust for Scotland members, this moment is a reminder of something even bigger: heritage connects us across borders. Through the International National Trusts Organisation, National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA membership opens the door to a world of extraordinary places cared for by kindred organizations around the globe.
Heritage close to the action
For those staying in Boston during World Cup festivities, The Trustees have highlighted several easy day trips that are accessible by public transportation. At World’s End in Hingham, visitors can walk more than four miles of carriage paths and footpaths across coastal drumlins, with views of the Weir River, Hingham Harbor, and the Boston skyline. Designed in part by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the site offers a peaceful escape from the city — close enough for an afternoon visit, but expansive enough to feel worlds away.
A global network of special places
The connection between World Cup travel and heritage travel is not just local. It is international. The National Trust for Scotland recently highlighted several places around the world cared for by fellow heritage organizations, including Villa Gregoriana in Italy, Ammersoyen Castle in the Netherlands, and World’s View in Zimbabwe, to name a few. Each place tells a different story. Some preserve dramatic landscapes. Others protect architecture, wildlife, gardens, archaeology, or the memory of communities who shaped the land around them. Together, they reflect a shared belief: special places matter, and they need care. For members and supporters of the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, that idea is at the heart of what we do. Whether your love of heritage begins with a castle in Aberdeenshire, a battlefield in the Highlands, a coastline in Massachusetts, or a garden halfway around the world, the work is connected.
Scotland, Massachusetts, and the world
NTSUSA exists to help Americans support the National Trust for Scotland’s work to protect and share Scotland’s irreplaceable places. But that mission is also part of a wider global movement. Across the world, National Trusts and heritage organizations are caring for places that hold stories of art, architecture, nature, migration, conflict, innovation, memory, and community. These places are not static. They are living landscapes and buildings that continue to welcome visitors, inspire curiosity, and connect people to the past in ways that feel deeply present. The World Cup brings people together through sport. Heritage does something similar. It reminds us that places can hold identity, pride, belonging, and shared experience — sometimes all at once, and occasionally with fewer penalty kicks.Plan your own heritage adventure
If you are visiting Massachusetts for the World Cup, consider adding a Trustees property to your itinerary. If you are an NTSUSA member planning future travels, take a closer look at the global network of INTO places your membership may help you explore. Before visiting any site, be sure to check the host organization’s website for current opening hours, admission information, and member access details. Whether you are cheering from the stands in Foxborough, walking the paths at World’s End, or dreaming of your next trip to Scotland, this is a perfect season to celebrate the places that bring us together.
Beautiful silk fans like this were used by women to communicate with men. In an age where a woman’s behavior was highly scrutinized, a fan was a discreet means of communicating her feelings.
Culross Palace was built between 1597 and 1611 for George Bruce, a merchant and engineer. Among other achievements, he came up with a revolutionary technique of mining coal from under the River Forth and extracting it via a mineshaft in the middle of the river, directly onto boats. He became a very wealthy man and his mansion reflected that: Culross Palace is a beautiful example of late 16th- and early 17th-century design.
Recently, the team unearthed what appeared to be a rather plain plastic box containing a group of wrapped prints labelled with intriguing titles. But to what exactly did the handwritten labels ‘Peasants Praying’, ‘The Flood’ or ‘Old Man with Beard (Rembrandt)’ refer? What we found was a collection of over 30 prints, dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The collection, including a view of Glasgow from 1693 and a portrait of Christopher Columbus from 1750, has no overarching theme but does contain works by a few recurring artists. In this piece we have decided to focus on three of our favourites.
The funeral procession for the Duke of Rothes
The print of William Hogarth’s Beer Street
An advertisement for Picturesque Sketches by George Harley
During their many years at Culzean Castle, the Kennedy family acquired an extensive assortment of memorabilia from all over the world which has embellished the interior – and exterior – of the property ever since. Among the many exotic artifacts and luxurious décor hangs what might seem like an ordinary aircraft propeller. The propeller, however, played a central role during a notable event in modern history.
It was in this climate of terror that Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson (1895–1918) joined 39 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, created in 1916 as a defensive response to German dirigible raids. Robinson had served previously as an observer with the Worcestershire Regiment in France. After he was wounded in Lille, he underwent pilot training in Britain and joined the fight against the enemy airships. In April 1916 Robinson had his first chance of shooting down one of the Zeppelins but did not succeed. However, a second opportunity presented itself later that year, in the early hours of Sunday 3 September. After taking off from Sutton’s Farm in Essex, he sighted a German airship, the wooden-framed Schütte-Lanz SL 11, and attacked it at an altitude of 11,500 ft. Having been hit by rounds of machine-gun fire, the seemingly impregnable airship burst into flames – watched by thousands of cheering Londoners. On landing, Robinson was given a hero’s welcome and the night was dubbed ‘Zepp Sunday’ after his exploits. This was the first German Zeppelin to be destroyed over Britain, and the fear of an indestructible enemy slowly began to fade.
NTSUSA – What is on the horizon for Toshie Mackintosh?
Lorimer also designed the landscaped gardens, with formal lawns, yew hedging, flowering borders and a sunken rose garden.
The castle is a fine example of Scottish Baronial architecture and paired with its beautiful surroundings Craigievar Castle looks like it should be the home of a Disney Princess. In fact, it is rumored that Walt Disney saw pictures of Craigievar and that they were part of the inspiration for his design of the iconic Disney Castle. This may be a myth in itself but it is easy to see why it might have been, with its pink walls and turrets, Cinderella would have fit in perfectly. Although, as you now know, the story of the Forbes and the Gordons holds far from a Disney fairytale ending.
This brings us to the National Trust for Scotland property, The Hill House. In the same year as designing the Room de Luxe at the Willow Tea Rooms, the very busy pair were commissioned by Walter Blackie to design his family home in Helensburgh, just west of Glasgow, atop a hill overlooking the Firth of Clyde. Everything was to be designed by the artists, even the cutlery! For the interiors, Margaret took inspiration from the Blackie family – who had made their living from publishing fairytales. Together, Margaret and Mackintosh created a masterpiece. The entrance hall feels as if you are walking right into the enchanted woods; the drawing room takes your imagination into an elegant rose garden with its extraordinary “Sleeping Princess” gesso above the mantle; and in the bedroom, embroidered silk panels of dreaming women flank the white carved bed and rose colored glass panels. The exterior of The Hill House is striking in its unornamented simplicity. Abstract shapes and forms assemble and reassemble at different angles and points of view. Mackintosh’s approach to the exterior contrasts to the organic nature of the interior, creating a barrier from one world to another.
To achieve an unornamented façade, Charles Rennie Mackintosh clad The Hill House in what was at the time considered state-of-the-art building material: Portland cement. The unfortunate result has been persistent and increasingly damaging water penetration that places the house and its artful interiors at severe risk of falling roughcast, damp, and dry rot. Remedies attempted over the past six decades have had an adverse impact on the house’s condition. Seeking a reliable solution, the National Trust for Scotland has embarked on a multi-year project that will result in a long-term maintenance and repair methodology as well as the conservation of the building’s exterior in full view of the public so that visitors can experience firsthand the painstaking, groundbreaking work that goes into preserving an irreplaceable piece of architectural history.
This week we are lucky enough to get an interview with author and Munroist Alan Rowan about all things Scotland and his debut book, “Moonwalker”. Alan is a mountain fanatic and has climbed the Munros twice, the Corbetts and all the 3000-foot peaks in England, Ireland and Wales, many of them during the “wee, small” hours. He is currently closing in on a third round of Munros as well as ticking off the Grahams.
