Day 6: Battlefields, Burial Grounds and a Castle
Culloden Battlefield
Today, we visited the Culloden Battlefield near Inverness. This was essentially the end of the Jacobite rebellion where the British defeated the Highlanders led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. The battle was a slaughter with 1500 Highlanders killed in 45 minutes with the Red Coats losing only about 50 soldiers. The interpretive center does a nice job explaining the history with a 360 degree (4 wall) video which made us feel like we were in the middle of things. They also had a moving battlefield that showed how things happened. This Jacobite defeat started an oppressive time when Highlanders were not allowed to wear kilts, speak Gaelic, play bagpipes and so on.
Clava Cairns
The Clava Cairns are an ancient burial grounds that are 3,000 years old. Researchers don’t know exactly why they were built in this style or location, but the site is still mostly intact. The structures look like rock igloos with standing stones around them in a circle. The site we visited had three circles total, but experts believe there were more which had been moved by farmers over time. It is likely that some of the stones were used to build the rock fence the surround part of this area.
After spending some time exploring the ruins, Nigel treated us to a very nice picnic lunch of cheeses, meats, crackers, chips, fruit, beer and wine. Thanks, Nigel!
After spending some time exploring the ruins, Nigel treated us to a very nice picnic lunch of cheeses, meats, crackers, chips, fruit, beer and wine. Thanks, Nigel!
Cawdor Castle and Gardens
The 400 year old Cawdor Castle is still a functioning residence today. The woman who lives there is an American who married into royalty. She used to run Vogue magazine, and she currently allows tours from spring through October. The gardens are beautiful, and we had a nice tour of the house. There is even a nine hole golf course on the grounds. This was a perfect location for our group photo!
Free evening for music
We used our free evening to check out the local music scene. We first went to Hootanany’s where a trio of musicians sat around a table and played unamplified traditional music with a hand drum, banjo/fiddle and keyboards. After about 25 minutes, we left Hootanany’s and went to Gellians to see if there was another musician. There was, and we really liked him. He played an acoustic guitar and had a simple stop kick drum on the floor. He was awesome, and I bought one of his CD’s. To top it off, he was a super nice guy. The atmosphere was alive in there with people dancing. Even the bartenders were singing and clapping along. Awesome.