The Culloden Battlefield
On 16th April 1746, five miles to the east of Inverness, the last pitched battle on British soil resulted in the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his attempt to reclaim the thrones of Britain and Ireland for the House of Stuart.
The Young Pretender’s ambitions have gone down in folklore and often been romanticized to such an extent that the real facts have often become blurred. This was not just simply a battle between Highlanders and Lowlanders, Scots and English, or even Catholics and Protestants. It was probably more about returning a Scotsman to the throne of Scotland than anything else, but be that as it may, Charles Edward Stuart’s ambition came to an abrupt end on Culloden Moor against the Duke of Cumberland, son of the Hanoverian King George II.
A walk around the battlefield is helped by the use of an audio guide that describes the events and people involved. I was told that it would take about half an hour to walk around, but it took me longer than that. I suppose it all depends on how much you want to immerse yourself in the experience. For those who aren’t that interested, but just come to see the landscape, you can whip round in no time at all.
The landscape is just moorland and not much to see if you’re not interested in the battle itself, but the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) who look after the site, are going to great lengths to return the moorland to what it would have been like at the time of the battle.
Leanach Cottage has been here since the battle, and I’m pleased to see that since my last visit has been restored.
The battlefield is drawn up between the two adversaries with red flags for the Duke of Cumberland, and blue flags for the Bonnie Prince. There are several markers as to where the combatants fell – around 50 fatalities on the Government side, and somewhere between 1500 and 2,000 Jacobites.
After all that the Prince had gone through to get here (that’s another story), it was all over within an hour and he fled back to France leaving a legacy that Scotland has had to live with ever since.
The NTS has built a new Visitor Centre because the old one was in the way of the battlefield and includes an exhibition describing the events up to the battle and beyond, so you need to allow some extra time here as well.
I’m sure that some people will come here and feel short changed at paying £11 for a full paying adult (as of Jan 2019), but in all fairness the NTS is doing exactly what it should be doing to maintain this historic site in the way it should be. I didn’t begrudge paying the entrance fee in the slightest – but maybe that’s because I’m English.
Culloden isn’t a place to come for instant gratification, but if you have an interest in Scottish and British history then come here, take your time to walk around and transport yourself back to that fateful day in 1746.
Originally posted 2019-01-30 06:04:14.
I’m an Outlander fan, so thank you for this post! So fascinating!
Thank you for your comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
You’re rightabout what was at the centreof this battle. There were English Jacobite supporters who were executed over this. Not been for many years so thank you for all the updates and the visit today.
I’m sure you can tell me a thing or two about the Jacobite rebellion. It’s a while since I’be been there as well now, but the first time I went, I had a good natter to a woman in the Visitor Centre, but on the last time there was a brand spanking new Visitor Centre which was very good, so perhaps if you venture up to the Banff coast, you might want to take another look.
I wrote a play which we toured back in 1989 about the founder of the Jacobirte’s, Grahame of Claverhouse. And yes the entire evolvement and history is very interesting.
Wow! That sounds well worth checking out. Do you have a link?
I have the script and I have a converted vid of itbut that would avhe to go on a cdrom. If you have a player.. I also have a nice program I can copy from the then Dundee Festival run that we did. I’ve got other ones–one from the Tercenenary of Killiecrankie , where we performed in Blair Castle. Just let me know i can email things. .
I’d be interested in anything that’s not too difficult for you to deal with Shey. I don’t want you spending hours on it but we stayed at Killicrankie and so know about the battle, and of course we went to Blair Castle as well. Some more posts to write about if ever I get round to it.
I’ll dig out the program this weekend anc copy it to email. And truly it is no trouble to copy a rom either. If I do it in stages it is not a big trouble. I ‘romed’ it lol, for one of the guys in Halflins. He’s English and really interested in Scottish history. Part was filmed at Camperdown House whcih the council gave us free and
I can also forward the script, the only thing is that the formatting is all wonky cos I copied it years ago. It was looking at the last 5 years of Claverhouse’s life. And there’s a bit from when we were at Mains Castle. There’s a lot of background re the end of the Stuarts, the whole biz of trailing into the Highlands to get support, etc.
Well, firstly, I’ve got a CD player which should play it ok, and if it’s not too much trouble, then of course I would like to take a look at it. I’m intrigued by all of it.
Then I will get that done this week and when I have get you to send youra ddy if that is okay.
Of course. Just let me know when you’re ready to send it and I’ll email my address to you – and thanks.
I sent you an email earlier.
From your photos it seems to me that the landscape alone is worth the visit. It can be challenging to visualise the events of a battle but easier with a good audio guide (my visit to Battle in Sussex springs to mind). I think I would definitely consider this worth the entrance fee 🙂
I don’t always use audio guides but I do in these situations (I also went around the battlefield at Battle with an audio guide). They help to bring the events to life and make the experience much more worthwhile
I didn’t remember all the history that went along with this battlefield site, but I do remember seeing the Culloden Cairn Memorial in our ’80s trip there! Thanks for reminding me of the history that is being kept alive here!
I’m glad it brought back some memories for you