Hugs of Heather
A Hug of Heather for Your Valentine, and a Hug of Heather for Glencoe
Looking to give something a bit different this Valentine’s Day? Why not give your valentine a Hug of Heather and help to protect an important piece of Scottish history!
For a donation of $45, you can give your loved one a thoughtful gift and become guardians of Glencoe’s legacy. We will send you a Hug of Heather card ready for your own message and a packet of heather seeds for planting at home. In return, your donation will buy a “hug-sized” bundle of heather in your loved one’s name for the thatched roof of our replica turf house at Glencoe.
The turf house will allow visitors to experience the realities of 17th-century life firsthand – including the smoky pleasures of a peat fire! To thatch the roof of the building in a traditional way, we need to source 600 “hug-sized” bundles of heather from the glen and from across Scotland. Your gift today will help us put the finishing touches to the turf house that will showcase the lost way of life of our Highland ancestors.
How many hugs?
$45 will place 1 hug
$90 will place 2 hugs
$135 will place 3 hugs
(you’ll get the corresponding numbers of cards and seed packets too!)
Give a Hug of Heather this Valentine’s Day that will help us share the story of Glencoe.
How Your Hug of Heather Will Help
In 2019, the NTS archaeology team excavated throughout Glencoe, learning more about the people who called the glen home in the 17th century. These excavations revealed new evidence about the way of life at the time of the infamous Glencoe massacre. To ensure that we never lose this history, we are recreating a traditional turf house to show today’s visitors how our ancestors lived and worked in the glen.
The house will be constructed using traditional materials and methods, sustainably sourced from Glencoe and throughout Scotland. The local community and volunteers will help build the turf house, developing new skills and learning more about the history that shaped their community. Once complete, the turf house will allow visitors from all over the world to experience life in the glen in the 1600s.
To thatch the roof of the building in a traditional way, we need to source 600 “hug-sized” bundles of heather from the glen and from across Scotland. Your gift today will help us put the finishing touches to the turf house that will showcase the lost way of life of our Highland ancestors.
With your help we can remember those who lost their lives in the troubled times that shaped Scotland’s history and help us celebrate the resilience of the Highlanders and their way of life now and in the future.
Neil Oliver, NTS President
About Glencoe National Nature Reserve
Millions of years ago volcanic eruptions thrust the mountains of Glencoe into the sky. Ice ground them down, shattered the rock and sculpted the valleys. Out of sight in the fastness dwelt Fingal, hero of legend. Countless lives were lived. Centuries passed, then millennia. In 1692 Glencoe was the scene of an infamous crime, the massacre of the MacDonalds. The Glen has cradled all of it and more. It’s a place synonymous with a lost way of life.
On February 13, 1692, 38 men, women and children of the MacDonald clan were slaughtered by a regiment of soldiers they had welcomed into their homes (acting on orders from Lord Stair, the Secretary of State). The tragedy of the Glencoe Massacre has had long-lasting consequences for the Highland way of life, and still has the ability to evoke powerful emotions today.
Working with the local community, we’re unearthing the forgotten history at the sites of three lost villages – Inverigan, Achnacon and Achtriochtan. By undertaking detailed excavation and survey work, we’ve found out more about the families who lived there at the time of the massacre and the onset of the Highland Clearances.
Just to let you know …
… for one Hug of Heather we’re asking for a donation of $45. If you’d like more than one, please donate the relevant amount and we’ll email you in confirmation.
Your donation will allow us to place a “hug-sized” bundle of heather on the roof of the turf house in your loved one’s name. All dedications are virtual, and no names will appear on the turf house.
Show your love for Scotland this Valentine’s Day
The turf house is only one part of our ambitious plans. Visit our Glencoe Appeal page to learn more about the other projects involved with our work at Glencoe.
