The National Trust for Scotland (NTS), the charity that owns Glenfinnan and many of Scotland’s best-known historic sites, is now rewriting its literature and displays at the memorial, including relabelling a scale model of the Du Teillay to give prominence to those slavery links.
A large portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Glenfinnan visitor centre is being replaced in early 2021 by a new display detailing those links and new research that has uncovered significant ties between many Highland estate owners and slave plantations across the Americas.
In a strange collision of historic and contemporary cultures, Glenfinnan is also one of Scotland’s most popular tourist destinations because its nearby railway viaduct features heavily in Harry Potter films: it was the backdrop to Harry’s flying car and used by the Hogwarts school train.
Part of the Harz Railway s route and leading up to the Brocken (the highest peak of the Harz mountain range), the Brocken Railway dates back to the 1890s but was closed due to damage during World War II.
It reopened in 1992 and now allows travellers to join from the station of Drei Annen Hohne at 1,778ft before it makes a steady climb up the Brocken. RelaxFoto.deGetty Images
There s mystery and magic to the mountain too, as legend says that on Walpurgis Night (30th April and 1st May), witches ride on their broomsticks to the top of the Brocken and dance at the top around a bonfire.