Clanlands by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish

Author:Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish [Heughan and McTavish, Sam and Graham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781529342024
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Published: 2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

‘Beyond all things, they are desirous to inspire a belief that men’s souls do not perish, but transmigrate after death from one individual to another; and besides, they hold discourses about the stars, about the size of the world and of various countries, about the nature of things, and about the power and might of the immortal gods.’

Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico,

book VI, written in the 50s or 40s BC

These stones don’t give up their secrets. They offer a tantalising glimpse into an age we can only guess at. Scraps of clothing, jewellery and bones are all we have but one thing has remained and shall remain: these stone guardians, reminders of a time long before the Highlander walked this land.

SAM

A vast tourist coach has pulled up and some people are waving at us as we pass through the gateway. The popularity and success of the show has led to a great number of people looking into their genealogy and history. Tourist numbers to Scotland have increased a great deal, with specific sites seeing a huge rise in numbers, including Clava Cairns and Doune Castle (Castle Leoch), which saw a 227% increase in visitors. The interest has also helped a lot of historic buildings find funding for refurbishment, from the flour mill (where Jamie takes a cold bath) to Geillis’s house in the historic town of Cuross, and the traditional sailing boat in which we set sail to France. Culloden battlefield has also seen a huge increase in numbers but there have been concerns over the increased footfall. The Fraser gravestone on the barren field has daily visits from curious tourists and a large number of flowers are laid by the graveside. Historic Scotland has asked fans to be respectful of its significance and the majority are extremely careful. I feel Scotland has been slow to pick up on this increased popularity but is beginning to gear its campaigns towards the new international audience. For the first few years of shooting Outlander, the locals were blissfully unaware of the horde of grubby actors running around the local park in Cumbernauld, filming a US TV show. However, a group of Diana’s fans (who had read her books some twenty years earlier) were organising and booking trips to Scotland. They knew the prime locations in the story and had even located our inconspicuous studio, hidden inside a derelict warehouse. The number of fans taking photos on the Culloden battlefield or pushing against every ancient stone, hoping to be transported back in time, proved that there was a voracious appetite for this material and that the rest of the world had an interest in and passion for Scotland. This passion has grown extensively in the last few years and I’m pleased that Scotland is now aware and making attempts to engage with the ever-increasing fandom.

Graham: I actually thought you were an ‘Ambassador for Scotland’? Still not seen your crown.

Sam: Yours is in the post, Grey Dog.

Graham: Hmm . . . Like the Sassenach whisky.

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