Iain Macleod Award

Iain Macleod Travel Award 2020 – Thomas Kingan (PS-Ca 2013–2020)

Explore Germany’s Reputation for Superior Engineering and Design I had hoped to make this trip in August 2020, but, as with everyone else’s international travel plans, it was postponed due to the global pandemic. By March this year the restrictions had relaxed, so, finally, I travelled to Germany in April 2022 with a university friend.

We started in the most south-westerly corner of Germany, in Weil am Rhein, which is home to the furniture company Vitra. As well as producing their own iconic furniture, the site is home to one of the world’s largest collections of designer made furniture. All of the buildings on the campus – the factory buildings, show building, furniture museum, offices and fire station, are designed by some of the world’s leading architects, including Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid. The production and architecture tour was stunning.

From Weil am Rhein, we took a train to Munich. In our two days there, we visited the Deutsches Museum which is the world’s largest museum of science and technology, Die Neue Sammlung Design Museum and also went to the headquarters of BMW.

As an aside – any consideration of Germany’s reputation for superior engineering, must mention the train network – it was great.

The next stop was Dessau and the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was a school of design, architecture and applied arts, and although it was forced to close in 1933, its teaching methods and ideals were transmitted across the world by faculty and students.

Today, nearly every art or design curriculum includes foundations from the Bauhaus model. Walking around the museum, it was striking to see many of the principles of design that we consider modern, and that I’ve been introduced to at university, being practised by the students and lecturers over 100 years ago. The years that the Bauhaus spent in Dessau are regarded as the heyday of the school, and it has been designated as a World Heritage Site. A particular highlight was staying in the Prellerhaus, the restored accommodation block within the main building.

From Dessau, we travelled to Berlin and on our last day we visited the home of one of Germany’s most famous modern institutions – VW.

The Volkswagen Autostadt in Wolfsburg is the world’s largest car plant. Like Vitra, like BMW and like all of the other places we visited, VW has an extraordinary visitor centre. It is almost cathedral like.

These visitor centres and production campuses were all incredible places in their own right and reflect the pride that Germans have in the products they design, engineer and produce. The importance of engineering within society and education was clearly visible. The factories and campuses are very connected to the communities they are based in, acting as ‘hubs’ for the local people. Positive, productive centres of manufacturing throughout Germany.

It is over two years since I submitted the original proposal. As I write, I am now well through my 2nd year studying Design Engineering at Imperial College, London. Because my trip was delayed, I had time to further research the subject and also look at the German historical and political context. By actually going to visit these places, I have been able to see where Germany’s reputation for superior engineering and design has come from.

My sincere thanks go to the Trustees for awarding the 2020 prize to me and enabling me to make what was such an enlightening trip.

Iain Macleod Travel Award 2021 – Leila Fleureau (CE 2017–2022) and Anna Fox (CW 2017–2022)

After many months of planning our trip from Inverness to Glasgow through lockdown Teams calls, we started our journey at the end of June 2021. With backpacks full of food, sun cream and midge spray, we were dropped off at the Premier Inn in Inverness, unaware of the adventure ahead.

Day 1–3: Great Glen Way

With the sun beating down as we waded in and out of the forest tracks, we walked a total of just under 100km in the first few days. Although our feet ached and we were constantly exhausted, the beautiful scenery around us kept our spirits high. We will never forget how amazing it felt to emerge out of the trees to see the glistening Loch Ness below us. We were also kept going by the delicious food we encountered along the way. On day 2 we stayed at Morag’s Lodge which offered us a delicious chickpea curry and ice cream, as well as a hearty breakfast the next day! The long days started to take a toll on our bodies by day 3, but we were shocked by our encounter with James Gingell, who was featured in the Guardian for walking LE-JOG to ‘escape emails’. Luckily that night, we were met by Mr Rowlands (Head of Outdoor Pursuits (Staff 2014–present)), ready for the days ahead.

Days 4–5: Ben Nevis and Rest Day

Despite our 37km day before, on the fourth day of our journey we headed up Ben Nevis for the very first time in our lives, accompanied by Mr Rowlands. Freed from the weight of our bags and the constant flat ground of the Great Glen Way, it was an exciting day to say the least! Along the way we met a diabetic who we helped reach the summit and returned a lost wallet and coat. We finished the day off with pizzas and Wimbledon, featuring Emma Raducanu. The following day was spent in Fort William, enjoying a late breakfast from Costa and running errands. Our definite highlight was also experiencing an ice bath for the first time!

Day 6–11: West Highland Way

The West Highland Way is a 96 mile stretch which took us from Fort William to our final destination in Glasgow.

On the first day of the journey, we were met with a vast number of people going the opposite direction, only later finding out that this was due to a walkathon event. Compared to the nearly deserted Great Glen Way which had cobwebs on the trail, we were excited at the prospect of well-trodden ground. Finishing the day in Kinlochleven, we fell asleep to the sound of football fans and midges swarming our tent.

The following day led us through the beautiful scenery of Glencoe and the notoriously hard Devil’s Staircase. With yellow weather warnings predicted, we walked briskly to our camp and were slightly disappointed when we only saw an anticlimactic drizzle. Our hopeful thoughts were soon destroyed when we experienced a downpour the next day whilst heading towards Tyndrum. Looking forward to a stay in a nice warm hostel we trudged through the rain, stopping for a delicious meal in Bridge of Orchy. Then, after gathering some supplies we settled into our room to watch Emma Raducanu once again.

Both day 9 and 10 were long and technical, spending the majority of the time hiking along Loch Lomond. However, we were delighted to be able to spend a night camping on a beach near Rowardennan, despite the dark clouds of midges trying to prove us otherwise. We also passed by an honesty stall which allowed us to purchase salted caramel banana muffins, which have never tasted so good! Our last night was spent on the island of Inchcailloch, munching on Sports Mix sweets and surrounded by wildlife.

The final day was 32km and the end was in sight! We woke up bright and early to walk up Conic Hill where we got an amazing view of Loch Lomond and its islets, before heading down to the tarmac roads and nearby towns. Almost getting lost in the last five minutes of our trip we were greeted with brownies and a Pizza Express dinner back in Edinburgh, before collapsing into bed.

Over the course of the expedition, we were able to raise over £9000 (including gift-aid) and increase awareness about Narcolepsy and Epilepsy. We personally gained much from the expedition and had a fantastic time walking through the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. However, we benefited not only through our positive experiences, but also through the mental and physical struggles throughout. We are grateful to the Trustees for making our fundraising expedition possible. It is an experience we will never forget.