The Gathering 2014 – Upcoming Event News

[chewse]

My wife and I are planning to go to the Gathering of the Clans in 2014. We've not stayed in the Stirling Castle area before.

Can someone recommend an Inn/B&B to stay in near the castle?

[guardsman]

dread to think of the prices

[Phil]

We stayed at the Stirling Highland hotel a few years ago when attending a wedding at the castle. Didn't have any complaints about it and it had free parking and was very central. Your best bet is somewhere like TripAdvisor which gives plenty of advice on local accommodation. You just have to weed out the cranks at either end of the spectrum who either hate a place or love it to get a balanced view. If this is their one & only review it is probably one or other of the cranks.

[creagdhubh]

We stayed at the Stirling Highland hotel a few years ago when attending a wedding at the castle. Didn't have any complaints about it and it had free parking and was very central. Your best bet is somewhere like TripAdvisor which gives plenty of advice on local accommodation. You just have to weed out the cranks at either end of the spectrum who either hate a place or love it to get a balanced view. If this is their one & only review it is probably one or other of the cranks.

Good advice, Phil.

[Border Reiver]

This could be the year my wife and I return to Scotland for a long overdue trip here. making plans all ready.

[AcuteEnigma]

Wouldn't staying in Glasgow or Edinburgh work? How early, late and often do the trains run between Edinburgh and Stirling?

[cessna152towser]

Trains from Glasgow or Edinburgh to Stirling run approximately half hourly and take 35-40 minutes to Glasgow or 50-55 minutes to Edinburgh. Currently the last train in the evening direct to Glasgow leaves Stirling at 23:05 and the last one to Edinburgh leaves Stirling at 23:14. The 23:14 Stirling to Edinburgh also connects at Falkirk with an Edinburgh to Glasgow train.

[Mael Coluim]

FINALLY AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT

THE GATHERING 2014



The pieces of the 2014 Clan Gathering are finally being shaken into place - and the resulting picture is actually pretty exciting. While it has taken some time for the concept of the 2014 Clan Gathering events to materialize, the developing vision and approach are fresh and energetic.



The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) has released a press release that speaks to the current plan in broad terms. CLICK HERE to read the SCSC press release.



Here are the highlights:



1. Previous plans for a Gathering at Stirling on July 11 -13, 2014 have been scrapped. The highland games scheduled for that weekend will, we understand, continue, but there is no longer any "Gathering" event being planned at Stirling.



2. The revised plan is to center a general clan gathering directly around the Bannockburn 700th Anniversary activities (June 28 - 30, 2014). An extra day of reenactment has been added to accommodate the clans. Additionally, a Clan Village is now in the works. Bannockburn events are being very capably organised and designed by The National Trust for Scotland and promise to be spectacular (See for yourself at the NTS Battle of Bannockburn website HERE). Bannockburn is a natural pairing for the second Gathering as is explained in the SCSC press release.



3. The Bannockburn gathering activities will be complemented with several regional Clan based events that gather clans and celebrate history and heritage all across Scotland. There are already some very exciting ideas well into development.



4. Finally, the clans will convene a 2nd International Clan Convention to coincide closely with the Bannockburn gathering activities and to conduct the continuing business of the international Scottish clan community.



This is a developing story and we will continue to bring you updates as we can, but here are just a few thoughts and a bit of background and perspective for now:



Background



In putting together the upcoming Stone Mountain Chiefs and Clans conference set for Oct. 19th at the Stone Mountain Highland Games, it occurred to us (COSCA and SCSC) that there was still precious little further to report about plans for the 2014 Gathering. It actually was occurring to many people. Oh Oh.



So, several months ago, we began to make our voice of concern heard as well as our offer to help. The upshot is this: SCSC, through the keen leadership of Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, is now deeply and rightly integrated in the correct channels and places in Scotland to begin to kick start and directly influence planning efforts.



What's Different Now



"More details will be coming". Of course we have all heard that before. But here is what is different and very encouraging now:



1. We have Dates and a Place to Gather. We have pretty solid dates and a place/event around which to now organise, and as you point out, it's a good one (Bannockburn). The event is well funded, well directed by National Trust for Scotland, and will be by all appearances, spectacular and energizing. It is solid. Truly something to remember and pretty much something to travel to Scotland in 2014 for, all by itself (CLICK HERE). COSCA will continue working to encourage integration of the clans into Bannockburn events in creative and exciting and meaningful ways.



2. We Have Leadership. We now have a very effective and very reliable pipeline for information and ideas and input straight to the very center of planning for 2014: Sir Malcolm MacGregor currently sits on the right committees and in the right meetings to really communicate and advocate for the clans and greater Diaspora interest. The SCSC is an outstanding partner.



3. We Have Partners. The Scottish Government has been extremely responsive to our concerns and we are confident that we have found an able and effective partner with which to work on 2014 heritage events. We will continue to work with the Scottish government through Robin Naysmith here in North America and the Homecoming 2014 team in Scotland in fine fashion.



4. We Have Ideas. The idea of regional events swirling around the Bannockburn dates and a 2nd International Clan Convention is, to me at least, a truly exciting one. While Bannockburn will give us the opportunity to gather together, the idea of a feast of regional gatherings in various clan homelands around Scotia is tremendously appealing. I believe the possibilities are truly limited only by our own creativity and the idea has real legs within the planning team.



5. We Have Goals. This experience has re-emphasised something that our great friend Robert McWilliam openly suggested to the first Clan Convention in 2009 and that many of us have often contemplated: The Clans need a hame in Scotland - a place that will provide a home and reliable opportunity to gather and conduct our business that lies under our own control.



6. We Are Working. This experience has also drawn together a growing alliance of Scottish Diaspora leaders and organisations that will prove critical in future months and years as we tackle all of the opportunities and challenges of which we so often speak.



I hope the takeaway from all of is indeed an exciting and optimistic one. I clearly understand that the early announcement of dates from Scotland has created difficulties for some folks who have made plans. Here is the lesson: the clans need much closer - indeed direct - involvement in the 2014 planning process itself. I am quite confident that we now have that and we will continue work to enhance it.



Yours aye,



Susan L. McIntosh, President

Council of Scottish Clans & Associations



_______________________________



Scotland 2014

Your Clan will be there. Will you?

[Mael Coluim]

Press Release – October 11th 2012
CLANS TO JOIN BANNOCKBURN WEEKEND 2014
Scotland’s clan chiefs and clans are to come together in 2014 to celebrate the 700th
anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn with a re-enactment weekend near Stirling
organised by the National Trust for Scotland. A clan village will be set up and the
town will be bright with tartan as Scotland marks the anniversary of the battle and
remembers the fallen.
The Convenor of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, Sir Malcolm MacGregor of
MacGregor said: ‘We are delighted to be included in what will be a momentous
event for Scotland. Bannockburn is a key event for us because it happened at the
dawn of the Scottish clan system. We hope that thousands of Scots, both here and
overseas, will now get behind the weekend and return to their roots to help us
remember what was a pivotal period of our history.’
The event has been planned for the last weekend in June to allow the clans to be
part of this major re-enactment which will also be open for the public to come
along and experience this momentous event in Scottish history. There are more
than 150 clan chiefs and hundreds of clan societies across the world. Interest is
expected to be highest in North America, where there are some thirty million people
with Scots’ ancestry.
Sir Malcolm MacGregor continued - ‘I – and nine other chiefs – will be at a clan
conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on 19th October telling people about the 2014 reenactment
at Bannockburn and other regional events. The battle is a key part of
Scottish history and the American clan leaders are keen to support us. We have
been in discussions with the National Trust about the event. Their record on
producing historical re-enactments is second to none. We are honoured to have the
chance to work with them.’
Tom Chambers, Director of Homecoming 2014 said.... ‘It makes sense to have the
Clans closely involved with the Re-enactment and this is promising to be a great
event. As part of the Homecoming 2014 programme, we are also looking at other
ways we might be able to support clan events outside of Stirling, so that we reach
clan homelands in every part of Scotland.’
FOR MORE INFORMATION – CONTACT FRANK WHERRETT, SECRETARY OF THE
STANDING COUNCIL OF SCOTTISH CHIEFS – ON: frank.wherrett1@talktalk.net

[ThistleDown]

The following letter from Sir Malcolm Macgregor of Macgregor to members of the Standing Council, dated yesterday:

Dear Chiefs,

This email comes as an update on 2014.

As you know Stirling Council decided in the New Year to lay on a clan gathering in July 2014 and announced the fact in March 2011. That led to considerable excitement and anticipation overseas.

The whole aspect of 2014 came to a head a month ago with the imminence of the COSCA /SCSC seminar at Stone Mountain Games on 19th October 2012. 2014 is on the agenda, but there was nothing to say about it.

This led to some serious questions in respect of the plans at Stirling and what was really going on. The overall problem was one of securing a site at Stirling for a large scale gathering which has proved to be very difficult. Consequently there will be no official clan gathering at Stirling in 2014.

The concept now is for a realignment of events to take place in order to:
a) really focus on Bannockburn itself - a key battle at the dawn of the clan system.
and
b) build a strong emphasis on good quality regional events, many of which will be clan based.

The Plans are as follows:

Part 1 is for the National Trust reenactment of the battle of Bannockburn on 28, 29, 30 June 2014 to be a signature event in 2014. An extra day has been added to accommodate the clans. In addition to the re-enactment there will be a distinctive, good quality clan village at the site. The National Trust will run all of this and have done reenactments before at Bannockburn so there is a high degree of confidence in this event. There is also the new visitor centre which will employ state of the art 3-D technology to interpret the battle.

Part 2 is for greater emphasis to be given to regional clan type events such as highland games in which there might be clan participation in 2014. An example is the Aboyne Games in which some 8 clans participate. Reference has also been made to SW Scotland and the Inverness area. The Highland Games council are in discussion with Event Scotland about how to regain the initiative in a fall off in attendance over the years. I am due to meet them at some point to see if the SCSC can help in some way.

Somewhat fortuitously, Glamis Castle is planning a gathering type event in July 2014. I have met with the management there and things are looking very good - providing they get the funding. This event will be of high quality in a fantastic location.

The overall concept behind part 2 is to give greater prominence to the regions, which should go down well with some members of the SCSC and other organisations. In my view it is an interesting concept and one that might bode well for the future. Frank Wherrett has been doing some detailed work on the contribution of the clans to local economies. This still has to be worked up into a formal paper but there is very strong evidence that clans make significant contributions to specific localities in various ways.

Part 3. This is the anticipated clan convention which in the absence of a gathering in 2014 assumes greater importance and will be run at Stirling University for a day sometime between 27 June and 2 July 2014. Owing to the uncertainties over the gathering, little progress has been made here but this should be rectified in the coming months. This convention will build on 2009 and the seminar in 2012 at Stone Mountain.

Other aspects. There might be a march and a concert type event at Stirling Castle - depending on what can be organised and whether there is demand.

There will be announcements made on this realignment of events in 2014 in the next couple of days.

Stone Mountain Seminar

There are some 10 chiefs attending Stone Mountain this year. Consequently the standing council with COSCA is running a seminar on the afternoon of 19th October EST. It is anticipated that this seminar can be watched on the internet. Once the link is confirmed I will forward that to you all under separate cover. Start time will be approximately 7.00 pm UK time.

Alex Leslie will shortly be sending out a newsletter which contains all the details of the seminar and who is involved.

With best wishes,

Malcolm