Fortrose and Culloden

On our first trip to the UK, Karen and I spent a week in Cornwall, including a visit to Land's End, the southernmost point in Great Britain, a land of wind, rain, rocky coasts, giant brown spiders in our cottage, and palm trees. Since we were in the Scottish Highlands, we decided to go to Britain's farthest north point. But, first, a visit to Culloden, and the military death of Scottish independence.

Fortrose Cathedral ruins

In a driving rain, we stopped first in Fortrose, an old cathedral town with, not surprisingly, an old cathedral. Ruins, actually. Built in the 13th and 14th centuries, it began to fall apart only 200 years later.Still visible are the effigy of Countess Euphemia and the partial effigy of Bishop Robert Cairncross.




 

Gothic arch, heavy rain

Effigy of Countess Euphemia

Partial effigy of Bishop Robert Cairncross

Memorial plaque, Fortrose Cathedral

Then, it was on to Culloden, site of the last battle on British soil (1746) and the end of the Jacobite uprising against the Hanoverian line of kings. More than 2,100 Jacobites were killed, wounded, or captured; more than 300 British forces. Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Stuart) and the dream of a Scottish king were over. I know that Karen will write much more about Culloden in her blog, Letters from Shenanigan Valley, but this was the next logical topic on our trip.

Boggy Culloden battlefield

We made our visit on a gray day, when the scrubby, undulating fields were as boggy as the day of the battle. The original walls which offered troops firing positions have been re-built, though lower. Blue flags mark the position of the Jacobite lines; red mark the British. Small memorials mark where Jacobite clans fought, and in the shadow of the Culloden memorial that honors all the dead, are smaller monuments to the dead of individual clans, buried on the battlefield.

Plaque on Culloden memorial

Culloden memorial in the mist

Culloden memorial cairn

Monument to the Athols of the Highlands

Karen photographing monument to French who fought for Jacobites

Monument to the dead of Clan Mackintosh

Battle mixes the dead where they can not be separated

Flowers for Clan Munro

School trip to Culloden battlefield

It is a somber place, Culloden, a battlefield, a military graveyard, and a field of lost dreams.

On to Inverness!

This was our fourth trip to the UK. On previous vacations, we'd rented a cottage a week for two weeks in the countryside. For the Scottish Highlands, Karen concluded we'd be better off renting flats in cities and towns, using them as "travel central." First stop, Inverness, a city of  72,000 on the River Ness, which would also give us access to the eastern highlands.

Boarding easyjet at Gatwick for Inverness

After arriving at London Heathrow Airport on a very comfortable British Airways flight, we caught a tram to Gatwick Airport and overnighted at the airport Hampton by Hilton - then took the another tram to the proper terminal, having been misrouted by a tram ticket clerk who confused the Hampton by Hilton (North Terminal) with the Hilton hotel (South Terminal). The next morning we flew on easyjet to Inverness and picked up our rental car, an underpowered Vauxhall Corsa 1.4, and lit out for Inverness. This was a familiarization ride. It had been about a decade since I'd driven a left-hand stick shift, on the
left-hand side of the road.

Vauxhall Corsa 1.4. Underpowered, jouncy, but nimble

 

Thanks to brilliant directions from our flat owner, we arrived without incident at our second-story flat, one street - and many stairsteps - above downtown Inverness. An easy city in which to walk or drive, Inverness is primarily built in tones of gray and brown slate, stone, and cobbles. The architecture is a mix of old, older, and mid-century horror, with some beautiful touches.

The Castle - Law court and jail

Doorway on left to our flat

Some of the many rabbits that live on Castle grounds

Flora MacDonald memorial on Castle grounds

Inverness seen from The Castle

Slate and cobble mosaic in downtown Inverness

Oldest church in Inverness - Old High St. Stephens

Architectural detailing

More architectural detailing

The River Ness bisects the city, with the old town on one side and the university district on the other. Walking and driving bridges cross the river at convenient intervals. People stroll, jog, and bike along the river, and laze on its banks.

Herring gulls are inveterate litterers, pulling trash from topped-up bins and strewing it across sidewalks and plazas that are clean except for unusually numerous dots of chewing gum.

Used beer kegs at Ness-side pub

There are shops for every need, including two large grocers (one inside Marks & Spencer), kilt makers, souvenir and woolen shops; and restaurants for every taste, including traditional pubs, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian, and chippys.

Souvenir shop, Victorian Mall

Fish monger inside the Victorian Mall

Flower shop, Victorian Mall

Inlaid sidewalk detail

We found it a comfortable city and a great gateway to the east and north.