"A Celebration of Scotland's Treasures"

Haddow House, Aberdeenshire, held in trust

As I travel around Scottish highland games, I ask people if they have ever visited Scotland.  A good number have – and have been many times – and the rest are either planning or dreaming of a trip.  In conversation they tell me that they would like to see Scotland’s historic castles and battlefields and majestic natural scenery.  Like all Scots I am proud to hear this as my country’s history is almost as dramatic as its natural beauty. And as David Eustace’s recent exhibition in New York has shown, the beauty of Scotland’s landscape changes with the shifting weather and seasons.  No view remains the same for more than a minute. 

Many of Scotland’s historic homes, natural history and battlefields are held in trust for all to enjoy by the National Trust for Scotland.  In all, the Trust is responsible for the upkeep of 129 heritage properties in Scotland, comprising some 190,000 acres of countryside, 1,770 buildings, and 16 islands, including St Kilda, the most westward point of the United Kingdom and a Dual World Heritage Site.

On Tuesday night, Melanie and I were privileged to attend the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA’s annual gala dinner at the Metropolitan Club in New York.  Since 2000 the Foundation has contributed $6.7m to the work of the National Trust for Scotland.  That is a magnificent sum, and all who love Scotland, whether Scots, Americans or from elsewhere should be very grateful to the Foundation and all those who work hard to that end.

This year the gala honoured Ian Gow, the Trust’s Chief Curator and awarded him with the Great Scot Award. This is a truly deserved award that recognised his authoritative work on Scottish architecture and the decorative arts.  In his most recent book, Scotland’s Lost Houses, Ian Gow selects twenty of the 200 or so historic houses that were demolished since 1945.  While this is a poignant account of what we have lost, it also speaks of the invaluable work of the Foundation as it supports the National Trust for Scotland in its work of “protecting and promoting Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to enjoy”.

http://www.ntsusa.org/donate-join/membership/