Glen Coe

Mountains at the entrance

Glen Coe (Gaelic Gleann Comhann ) is a valley ( glen ) in the Scottish Highlands. It is in the unitary authorities Highland and Argyll and Bute. The only village at the mouth of the valley is Glencoe, the nearest sub- center is Ballachulish. The River Coe flows into the bay Loch Leven - a branch of Loch Linnhe. The Glen Coe is a popular hiking and skiing to tourists. Starting point for visits is often the nearby Fort William, connected by the A 82

Formation

The Glen Coe emerged as the largest part of the Scottish mountains with volcanic activity. The volcanic cones were during several ice ages ground by glaciers and eroded by weather conditions continue. The valley is so between high mountain ridges and is drained by the River Coe, open into the many small streams that come down in waterfalls of the mountains. The end of the valley towards Rannoch Moor is dominated by the mountain Buachaille Etive Mòr Pyramid.

History

Then it went including the surrounding mountains to Angus Og the leader of the Clan MacDonald, who had fought on the side of Robert. Angus then left it to his illegitimate son Iain Fraoch, who founded the hapless communities MacIain Abrach of Glencoe.

In 1500 began the poorer highland clans like the MacDonalds, to hire themselves out as rustlers against the richer Lowland clan. It is also a rivalry between the MacDonalds and the Campbells, who had also fought under Robert the Bruce, but had received the Glen Lyon in Perth in the Lowlands was born. Through their decades carried out robberies of Glen Coe clan eventually became very unpopular with its neighbors.

On August 27, 1691 began far-reaching events, when King William III in London a pardon for all Highland clans offered, who had fought against him or harassed their neighbors. Condition, however, was that they had until January 1, 1692 against him allegiance down in front of a judge. Those who refused were threatened with the death penalty. The Clan MacDonald, represented here by the Chief of the Clan MacIain of Glencoe agreed, reluctantly store to this oath. But it came to pass after mistakenly Inverlochy at Fort William instead to Inveraray on Loch Fyne. Therefore, he reached Inveraray only on January 6 after the deadline. Thus them no reprieve had been granted in 1692 and taught royal soldiers, supported by the Clan Campbell, the massacre of Glencoe in which at least 38 inhabitants of the valley died.

After this event, which is the low point of the history of the Clan MacDonald for many Scots, the ratio of surviving MacIans normalized to the other clans again.

Others

Several famous films were shot in Glen Coe or nearby, including Highlander - There can be only one, Braveheart, Rob Roy, James Bond 007 - Skyfall and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The vast majority of Glen Coe is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The land was purchased by the mountaineer and philanthropist Percy Unna, who entrusted it to the Trust with the condition that the wild nature of the country is protected and maintained. The construction of a visitor center caused some controversy because some people saw in it a violation of this edition. The original center was therefore concluded later, and built a new at the entrance of the valley. This visitor center to get information about the natural conditions, hiking and historical significance of the gorge.

The last area of Glen Coe, who was in possession of the MacDonalds was the area around Invercoe. In 1894, bought Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal this area and built the stately mansion, Mount Royal. In 2002, acquired Alistair MacDonald of Glencoe event of a sale at the last minute the remaining lands of the descendants of Lord Strathcona. Alistair court then made with funds from six donors the Glencoe Heritage Trust, a charitable foundation to preserve the legacy of Glen Coe.

Pictures

Glen Coe

The A 82 in the Valley

The A 82 in Glen Coe

External links and sources

  • History of Glen Coe on glencoescotland.com
  • Fwf - scot: " The massacre of Glen Coe " on fwf - scot.com
  • Glen Coe on glencoe - nts.org.uk
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