Culloden Battlefield

Visiting Historic Culloden Battlefield

A couple of weeks ago, I said I'd talk about Culloden and Clava Cairns for last week's blog post.

I got distracted when I saw the photo of the pretty orange flowers from last week's post and remembered our walk out to Irishman's Point.

Oops. 

I remembered last night when I was editing this photo of the battlefield at Culloden. 

It doesn't much look like a battlefield today but it was in fact the site of a terrible, bloody battle in 1746 during the Jacobite uprising.

Today, the grass is beautiful and the area is dry. In 1746, it was a boggy mess from recent snowfall.

I love reading about and learning about history, and it's especially cool when you can stand at a historic place and learn about it.

One of the things I enjoy about traveling to the UK and Europe is the impressive architecture that's stood the test of time. It makes history come alive. 

We were lucky to stay with friends whose homeland is Scotland. Rory has a great head for remembering dates, places, and facts and he was a treasure trove of historic information.

His wife, Annice, also knows loads about Scotland, both present and historic. I wish we'd had more time with Annice but she had to work over on Lewis most of the time we were there.

I also love hearing them both speak Gaelic - it's such an interesting language.  

Rory told us about the Clearances, the Jacobite Rebellion, and much more. When we finally got to Culloden on our last full day in Scotland, I had a head full of information, and a heart for the Highlanders. 

In short, Bonnie Prince Charlie sought to restore the British throne to the Stuarts, and he led the Jacobite Rebellion. He had a mixed army of lowland Scots, Highlanders, and even some French and English. 

I won't go into detail here but the Battle of Culloden was short and bloody. Over 1,000 men died in less than an hour, most of them Highlanders. 

Instead of allowing the families of the fallen or injured onto the battlefield to retrieve the dead and care for the wounded, Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland, showed no mercy. He hunted down as many as he could and killed them.

In order to stop any subsequent uprising, the Duke made life in the Highlands as difficult as possible. 

Today, the battlefield itself is beautiful and endangered by encroaching development.

Culloden was an important battle and the area is a monument to those who died there. I hope they're able to save it for future generations. 

If you love reading about history as much as I do, there are plenty of books and websites devoted to the battle. 

Or, maybe you'd just like a print?

See you between the raindrops!

xoxo,
Susan

PS - I'll try to remember Clava Cairns next week!