NEWTONMORE to THURSO – Preshistory and loss of life
Monday – another fine day has dawned and I am up early. Suitcase out the front of the room as usual and I head off to take some early morning photos.
Have been told that the series ‘Monarch of the Glen’ is filmed around here but I don’t have enough time to go exploring that far.
Breakfast is the usual scrumptious big one – I am not losing any weight so it is just as well I am walking as much as I am. We set off about 8am and this is a long drive – we pass the Spey Valley and stop at the Balnuran of Clava – near Inverness.
We think that the gate is locked and we can’t get in until someone has the bright idea of lifting the bit of iron that is used as a lock. Oh dear!!
A lot of prehistoric cairns and stone circles that are thought to be a burial site. It is a very interesting and incredible place especially when you can walk down into the cairns. Actually it is quite a sombre place and we wonder what the people who used to inhabit this area were like.
HISTORY LESSON: Clava Cairns is a peaceful ancient setting of prehistoric passage graves and standing stones near Inverness.
Three ancient mounds of round boulders lie in a wooded glade. Their appearance is deceptive, for the inner chamber is open to the elements nowadays.
In prehistoric times the boulders would have formed an enclosed space, and the two cairns which feature an entrance passage would have been dark and enclosed rather than the airy and open structures that they are to the modern eye.
We then head off to Culloden just south of Inverness. It is eerie to think that I am standing on a field where a great battle was once fought and where so many people died.
HISTORY LESSON: This battle was the last military clash in mainland Britain between the Jacobites and the British Army. It ended the 1745 Jacobite rising and was a massive defeat for the Jacobites who were outnumbered.
This is the Culloden Memorial Cairn.
Erected in 1881, by Duncan Forbes, the Memorial Cairn is the largest monument on Culloden Battlefield. Situated approximately halfway between the Jacobite and Government lines, the cairn incorporates a stone bearing the inscription “Culloden 1746 – E.P. fecit 1858.”
Placed by Edward Porter, the stone was meant to be part of a cairn that was never finished. For many years, Porter’s stone was the only memorial on the battlefield.
The actual battlefield is set out with markers and flags to show where the armies of both Bonnie Prince Charlie (Jacobites) and the Duke of Cumberland (Government) were positioned during the fighting on 16th April 1746.
The battlefield is now covered in heather (I pick just a little sprig to take home) and a light breeze blows the flags of both sides. If you close your eyes, listen very carefully and use your imagination you can hear the fighting and the sound of bagpipes. It is a very moving place. Before you go onto the main battlefield you can follow the trail around and see the mass graves of the clansmen.
There are stone cairns to mark the spot for each clan. Then the trail leads onto the battlefield shown above. I am glad that we had the chance to spend quite a bit of time here before heading off. No-one can come to this place and not feel affected by the sorrow. So much history – so much sadness occurred on this windswept moor.
The mood on the coach after leaving Culloden is definitely sombre – but that changes when we arrive at Loch Ness to do a bit of Nessie spotting.
We are in luck – we see her!!! Can you see her? She is in the bottom left of the photo and I must admit she is not as big as I thought she would be!! The loch is so huge and we stay here for a while which is good – so we can take lots of photos.
It’s amazing to think that with all the scientific people that have been trying to find Nessie and all their high tech equipment they have failed. Though with the Loch over 20 miles long and hundreds of feet deep in places it is hardly surprising. There is a shop here (of course) but it is not open yet so we do not get a chance to get any Nessie souvenirs. I like to think that the girl is there hiding away in the depths and having a good old giggle to herself!
Back on the coach and off to Inverness.
Paul gives us a little talk and we are again left on our own to explore – which is great. I buy some postcards and this is a lunch stop as well. I am very adventurous and head for McDonalds (they are everywhere) – and then I find a quiet place to eat. I climb up some stairs and sit on a little wall near Inverness Castle.
There is a good view over the town and whilst devouring my Filet of Fish, all of a sudden I am surrounded by these bloody seagulls the size of vultures who are giving me the evil eye! Huge birds with equally large appetites. Makes our seagulls at home look like sparrows! I decide to let them have my chips (smart move) and I bid a hasty retreat while the going is good. I visit Inverness Castle and take more photos.
HISTORY LESSON: The statue in front of the castle, erected in 1899, is of Flora Macdonald, the heroine of the last Jacobite uprising. After ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’s’ defeat at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 his endeavours to escape took him to Stornoway, and to return to Skye he disguised himself as Flora’s companion.
They were rowed across the Minch to the Isle of Skye. For helping the Prince, Flora was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a brief period and released in 1747.
Time for a Kodak moment that is spoilt or enhanced – whichever way you look at it by – you guessed it – one of those mongrel seagulls perching on her head at the appropriate time. Flora McDonald with the fashionable ‘Seagull’ hat!
There are some quaint little shops in Inverness and we get to explore for a while before getting back on the coach and heading off to Thurso – Scotland’s most northerly town. Wonderful views of the Pentland Firth as we travel along.
A long drive that is highlighted by certain members of our team wanting unplanned pit-stops.
As we go along we see oil rigs – well I think they are oil rigs, but then again they could be gas rigs plus we also see some really great houses or maybe castles?
Arrive at Thurso on the top north coast of Scotland – doesn’t look very interesting – a bit bleak but maybe after a bit of discovery who knows???? Hotel is the Hotel Royal.
The coach parks in the main street right out front of the hotel. As soon as you get off the coach there are some steps which lead to the very narrow entrance way to the hotel under the blue awning.
One of the ladies in the group takes a nasty tumble down the stairs so we all have to watch out not to follow. We are staying here for two nights and dinner is included so I don’t have to worry about food.
The room is nice and looks as if the bed is lovely and comfortable.
After settling in – I have a little wander around the town – we have arrived late and the shops are shut but there is a river and I think that maybe I’ll get up early investigate that one morning.
Highlight of the day: Culloden