Walter Scott 250th Anniversary celebrations online 20 March 2021

Walter Scott: The Man Behind the Monument –

250th anniversary celebrations

In 2021-2022 Scotland celebrated the 250th anniversary of one of its most famous sons, Sir Walter Scott.

Nobody has done more to give a nation a sense of itself. Through the mines of his imagination and the magic of his pen, he celebrated the history and landscapes of Scotland in a string of best-selling books that dominated the 19th century.

Scott’s legacy can still be experienced in the most extraordinary and unexpected places across Scotland, from castles to cashmere mills and from mountain tops to moments of mindfulness.We met the real man behind the monument, whose imagination, integrity and patriotism shaped the Scotland of today.

Future Learn joined us for the new English course “Walter Scott 250-th Anniversary Launch” at the 20 March 2021 that this year we were celebrating the 250th anniversary of Walter Scott’s birth.

We could visit WalterScott250.com, a special anniversary website and events programme across 2021-2022 and access further resources and content relating to Scott’s life and legacy.

I was the guest from 6pm (GMT) on Saturday 20th March to watch Sir Walter Scott light up the night sky as we launched the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.

We were online for the world premiere of a brand-new short film of the Young Scott and saw the spectacular live-streamed projection of the specially commissioned film onto Smailholm Tower, timed to coincide with sunset on World Storytelling Day, 20th March.

Our programme for the evening was:

• 6pm Start of broadcast at WalterScott250.com. That was presented by Brian Taylor, former BBC correspondent and past President of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club. It was feature well known Scott fans including award-winning author and presenter, Damian Barr, Scottish historian, Professor Sir Tom Devine, TV presenter, author and journalist, Kirsty Wark, and Outlander author, Diana Gabaldon.

6.30pm Live broadcast from Smailholm Tower. We met Andy McGregor, the artist behind the film, and found out more about how the area influenced Scott. Smailholm Tower (right), which is owned by Historic Environment Scotland, is adjacent to the farm where Scott lived as a boy. Its intimated

• link with Scott gave it a particular potency and magic as we began the celebrations of his 250th year.

• 6.45pm Live steaming of the film projected onto Smailholm Tower.

We hoped that we were able to join on Saturday evening for what promises to be a wonderful event. We would love as many people as possible to share this magical evening with them, so we felt free to share this invitation with our colleagues, friends and family.

As we’ve enjoyed exploring Walter Scott’s Abbotsford on this course, we could also keep in touch by joining our mailing list or by following #AbbotsfordScott across all major social media platforms.

Sites

1 [email protected]

2. http://about.futurelearn.com/about/faq

3. http://futurelearn.zendesk.com

4. https://twitter.com/WalterScott250/status/187

5. walterscott250.com

6.@WalterScott250

7.@Abbotsfor Scott

8. @WalterScott250

2