By Hongwei Jing
On October 21, 2019, The University of Stirling organized the members of BIGC Programme to visit Glencoe and arranged a volunteer Chen Xi to accompany. Before leaving, Professor Chen organized the students to do some homework for the visit of the Scottish Highlands.
Glencoe is located in the west of Scottish Highlands. The earth entered a period of great ice age 950 million years ago, which is known as Precambrian Ice Age. The Scottish Highlands is one of the earliest known places as evidence of the Precambrian Ice Age, and also the last reservation of the ice age with the deepest and widest influence in the history on the earth today. The scenery is so heroic. The famous movies Skyfall (one of the 007 films) and Harry Potter (Quidditch stadium and Hagrid’s cottage) have been shot here.
Glencoe has a long cultural history. In 1692, in order to resist the rule of the Protestant King of England, 38 members of MacDonald were killed in Glencoe. The Massacre of Glencoe is the endless pain in hearts of Highlands Scots, and it has become the creative theme of countless writers and artists, including the song Maclain of Glencoe by Scottish singer Moira Kerr. The famous part “Red Wedding” in American author George Martin’s fantasy novel A Song of Ice and Fire is based on the two most famous treacherous stories in Scottish history. One is the “Black Dinner” in Edinburgh Castle in 1440. The King of Scotland betrayed his promise and lured and killed the Clan Black Douglas (the young Earl leader and his brother) at the dinner; the other was The Massacre of Glencoe in the highland Valley in the early spring of 1692.
This visit enables the members to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the highlands of Scotland, learn the local natural and cultural knowledge, and enrich the learning life of students.