Jacobite Scotland - (Part 2) - Culloden

Yellow gorse and memorial cairn erected 1881 by Duncan Forbes, owner of land

I had wanted to visit the Culloden battle site for a number of years, having read much about the Jacobites and their risings in 1709, 1715, and their final act in 1745-6, to put the Stuarts back on the throne of Great Britain. The morning Jay and I went, it had rained during the night and the day was misty, much as it had been on April  16, 1746.

At time of battle, this was grazing land with rock walls.

 If you have visited Gettysburg, or any Civil War battlefield such as Antietam or Bull Run, there is nothing joyous in the visit. You are filled with sadness. Over two thousand men fell here, mostly highlanders, but some lowlanders, too, who had borne arms, led by highland chiefs following Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie - to reinstate his father, the Old Pretender, son of King James II and VI of England and Scotland. If you're interested in the actual battle, you can read about it here.  Visitors, perhaps descendants of clansmen who fought still leave mementos out in the gorse and heather.

After the battle, the locals were ordered by Government forces to dig the mass graves for the highlanders. In 1881 Duncan Forbes, the owner of the land, had memorial stones for the clans set where these mass graves lay.

Clan Fraser

Mixed clans

Clan MacGillivray

Clan Cameron

Well of the Dead

Clan Stewart of Appin

Clans MacGillivray, MacLean, MacLaughlan, Athol Highlanders

Clan MacKintosh

French Jacobites (many of Irish and Scottish descent), who protected the rear of the Highlanders' retreat

The lay of a battlefield will often decide the victory. The marsh, still here as on the morning of the battle, caused the Jacobites on the left to swerve around it to the right, bunching up in the middle,  thus failing to assault the flank of the Government forces.

Note the fellow looking into the window of this small cottage rebuilt after the battle, which was thought to have housed wounded Government soldiers. There is still some doubt where from 50 to 300 British soldiers are thought to have been buried, but archaeologists are working on locating the exact site -- and may actually have by now.

But, for all of the solemnity we felt, there was time for levity in the large new (2007) visitor's center, where Jay was allowed to don a targe and raise a sword  just to see how they felt.

And we had lunch in the cafeteria, which included this bottle of lemonade flavored with rose water - very good. I drank most of it before remembering to photograph it.

Jay's Take on Scotland (Part 4) - Commando Memorial

My Own Private Idaho: "This Country Was Their Training Ground": When a country has fought as many wars as has Great Britain, one would expect war memorials in every town, and that's certainly true of ...

Jacobite Scotland (Part 1) - Massacre at Glencoe 1692

Monument to the Chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe and his clan

Looking toward Glen Coe  from the  banks of Loch Leven

I have studied the Jacobite era of Scotland for many years and, lest you think it all occurred in 1745-6, terminating at the Battle of Culloden, it actually began in 1688 with the British Parliament inviting Mary, the Protestant daughter of Catholic King James II of England, who was also James the VII of Scotland (having  recently produced a Catholic male heir), and her husband William of Orange to come from Holland and assume the throne of Great Britain, which included Scotland. The Scots fought the English at Killiecrankie and Dunkeld in 1689 without a victory.  James personally tried once to regain his throne, but his forces were defeated in 1689 at Boyne in Ireland. Still, many highlanders remained loyal to James - thus Jacobites.

Modern Glencoe Village at entrance of Glen Coe

The facts leading to the massacre at Glencoe are fascinating and you may want to read them on Wikipedia.
McIan, chief of Clan MacDonald, was ordered to pledge allegiance to William and Mary. He did his best to meet the requirements.  Troops loyal to the crown were then housed among Clan MacDonald in three settlements (Invercoe, Inverrigan and Achnacon) with the claim that there wasn't enough room at Fort William. Hospitality was given, but two weeks later, orders came and the killing of the clan began. Thirty-eight MacDonalds were killed outright; 40 women and children died of exposure in the February cold and deep snow after their homes were burned down.

How the clans homes might have looked at the time, probably without whitewash

Through the modern village of Glencoe, then turning left on a one lane track, we came to the monument, erected by a direct descendant in 1883. A peaceful site on a small hill surrounded by woods.

"Cruel is the snow that sweeps Glencoe" begins the popular ballad of the massacre.

Not a forgotten place, as the cards and withered flowers attest

On our way out, we stopped at another memorial - to those Glencoe who died in the Great War. Eleven names, including MacDonald, Buchanan, MacMillan, Mathieson. Later, one was added from World War II.

Dileas Gu Bas - "Faithful unto Death"

On our drive back to Inverness, we stopped at the Commando Memorial

This large monument stands to more than 25,000 men who trained as Commandos during World War II, not only British, but U.S. Rangers, Frenchmen, Belgians, Danes, Dutch, Norwegians and Poles. It overlooks the area in which they trained with stunning views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor.

Dedicated in 1951 by the Queen Mother, who had an affinity for Scotland.

What we Found of Medieval Scotland

Remnant of Fortrose Cathedral

I will skip the Viking era of northeastern Scotland because there is little left but place names and Scots with red hair to show that the Vikings dominated the Hebrides and inland Scotland for many centuries. So, we will move on to medieval Scotland. I prefer less-traveled places, so we never got around to visiting intact castles. Above is what was probably the chapter house of a medieval cathedral at Fortrose on the Black Isle, about 6 miles northwest of Inverness, where we stayed our first week.

It was raining rather hard and we were the only people looking about.

The entire cathedral was very large, but Oliver Cromwell had most of it pulled down so he could build a fortress in Inverness. He had little use for either the Catholic Church or the Anglican Church.

Sarcophagus of a medieval bishop 

The chapter house is such a ruin that we are on the outside looking in through the side to take our photos.

It still has nice vaulting in the ceiling. Soaked and hungry, we raided the bakery across the way for hot tea and treats.

This next photo is of a ruin of a foot bridge. I assumed it had been built before 1600; but since posting this, discovered it was built in 1717. It is still the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands.

Packhorse bridge at Carrbidge

We spent our second week across from the Isle of Skye at Kyle of Lochalsh. And from our window, we could see the ruins of Castle Moil (also called Maol, Dun Akyn, etc) across on Skye above the village of Kyleakin. It was the ancient seat of the Clan Mackinnon.

This ruin dates from 15th century, but was built on earlier ruins

Having acquired a recumbent stationary bike to strengthen my legs a few months before our trip, even at 68, I really wanted to climb up to the ruins. And so we did, clambering up like old clumsy goats.

Beware the Tides - with no supervision, the sightseer is on his or her own.

Again, we were the only tourists about as I took a photo of Jay on the easy part of the climb.

There is a Norse connection, for the castle came into Mackinnon hands by marriage in the year 900 to  a Norse princess. And later, King Haakon IV is thought to have assembled his fleet of longships there before the Battle of Largs in 1263 (hence the name Kyleakin - Haakon's kyle). Haakon's defeat at Largs effectively ended Norse domination of the Scottish islands.

Looking over the Strait of Kyle Akin

View of Kyleakin from the castle ruin

Protected on the tidal side by water, but always aware of possible attack from behind.

 Weather has not been kind to this ruin - parts of it have continued to fall down because of great gales.
Here's an old photograph I discovered in a restaurant of how it looked some years ago.

Jay's Take on Scotland (Part 3) True North

Jay's take on our drive through Sutherland north to the far end of the island of Great Britain.

My Own Private Idaho: True North: As a cyclist, I'd heard for years about the ride from Land's End, the southernmost point of Great Britain, to John O'Groats, t...

Prehistoric Scotland - Part 3 - What Became of the Picts?

One of the Rosemarkie Pictish Stones

 We visited the Groam House Museum in the town of Rosemarkie, northwest of Inverness on the Moray Firth. I like small museums - they don't overwhelm. This two room museum houses the Rosemarkie Stones,found locally, mostly when graves were being dug. They were created by the Picts.

Who were the Picts and what became of them? They were farmers during the Dark Ages, inhabiting Scotland from the Northern Isles to its center. They left carved standing stones and after they were converted by missionaries from Ireland in the 6th century, their art was carved with large crosses and biblical scenes.

In about 840 A.D. they allied with their former enemies, the Scots, who had moved into eastern Scotland, probably to fight the invading Vikings to the north and east. After that they faded from history, they and their language absorbed.

But the Pictish carving that affected me most rests in the Inverness Museum. 

Wolf Stone - carved in sandstone and found in 1903 or earlier built into an old wall. A few lines depict its powerful body.

Seeing these Pictish stones in museums made me want to see some at their original sites. We made that opportunity when we spent our second week across the bridge from the Isle of Skye.

It was a chilly and rainy day when we drove up the the northwestern coast of Skye.

We turned off the narrow main highway onto a tract and kept our eyes open. And there is was silhouetted against a suddenly blue sky.

Clach Ard - one of only two known engraved stones found in Skye dating from the 7th or 8th centuries. Enigmatic symbols are a crescent and V rod, a double disc and Z rod, and a mirror and comb.

Here's a close up, but the winds of Skye wear down stone.

Another lay nearby

Satisfied, we drove on north to the Uig Hotel,

 where we had lunch while watching a ferry boat steaming past what appeared to be a castle tower ruin but was, in reality, a large Victorian folly.

And then I had delicious Scottish dessert, the name of which now escapes me - something like sticky toffee cake.

After a few more adventures, we drove back down the peninsula in the rain. But the sights were still lovely in a melancholy Romantic way.

Loch Snizort