After switching trains in Perth, I continued on my journey, until I finally arriving in Inverness 'The Gateway to the Highlands'. After grabbing lunch, I headed off to my first destination, Inverness Castle. The current building has only existed since the 1840s, but Castles on the site have been around since the Middle Ages. At various times in history the castle was besieged by William I, Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Speaking of the young pretender, my next stop was the very place where his dreams of kingship came to a bloody end, Culloden. To review, James II was deposed by his daughter by his first wife, Mary, and her husband, William, an event known as the Glorious Revolution (they also founded the College of William and Mary, which makes them automatically awesome). James and his sons by his second wife then began attempting to retake the crown. In 1748, in the midst of war with England France agreed to support James' grandson, Charles, in an expedition to invade England and conquer it. Charles, a Catholic, arrived in the Western Highlands, a bastion of previous rebellions and far away from the British authorities. The Bonnie Prince, so called because he was only 25, initially had some difficulty in persuading the Highland Chieftains to his cause, but eventually he had most (but not all) of their support. Employing guerrilla tactics to distract the British commander Sir John Cope, he eventually outmaneuvered him and took Edinburgh. After being met with cheering crowds in the Scottish capitol, Charles met Cope in the field of battle. At a site called Prestapans, a thick fog and night march led by Charles's brilliant command Lord George Murray, allowed the Jacobites to surprise and slaughter the English. The troops then invaded England, but were eventually compelled to turn around due to internal division. The English meanwhile were gradually winning back Scotland. Many Scots were more than a little suspicious of the Catholic Prince, and Charles' failure to reconvene the Scottish Parliament did nothing to alleviate English propaganda suggest (with some cause) that he intended to rule as an absolute monarch. Indeed, Glasgow, around where my ancestors lived, gave Charles the 18th century equivalent of the Middle finger when he asked for support. Finally, at Culloden, Charles’s tired army met the army of the Duke of Cumberland, King George II's son. On the uneven ground the Highland charge was useless against the English and loyalist Scots disciplined musket and cannon volleys. The Jacobite forces were crushed and hopes of a Stuart King once more on the British throne came to an end.
Today the battlefield is peaceful, with Mountains rising in the distance as one wanders the field. While the terrain has been altered somewhat overall it remains roughly the sameas it did in 1748. The site is both a battlefield and a graveyard, the unmarked graves of both English and Scot lie just below the earth. In the aftermath of the Battle, the Duke of Cumberland for his harsh treatment of both Jacobite soldiers and civilians earned himself the nickname 'Butcher Cumberland'. A satirical cartoon from the time showed a terrified woman trying to explain to a vengeful English soldier that she was wearing a petticoat and not a kilt. As I mentioned before, since my ancestors are believed to have come from an area that hated Charles, if any of them did fight in the battle it was probably on the English side. If they did fight on the Jacobite side, it would potentially be one of the many cases where my English and Scottish ancestors attempted to kill each other. After returning from the Battlefield, I headed off to the Ness Islands. These pictures islands lie on the River Ness and provide a peaceful walk that really allows one to appreciate the more subtle aspect of Scotland’s natural beauty. The next day, I head off to nearby Loch Ness one of the deepest lakes in the world, and you not believe what I saw...
Can you believe it? It’s the Loch Ness Monster! You cant'? You say that's just my hat on my hand? Well you may be right, but there was a still a lot to see in Loch Ness. I began at Castle Urqhart (for fans of the UK version of House of Cards, this is probably where they got the name of Ian Richardson's character). Like its counterpart in Inverness, this castle been besieged numerous times as the reconstructed siege engine makes clear. Despite being blown upby its last owners to prevent it from falling into Jacobite hands, a good portion of the Castle survives, providing a fascinating glimpse into history and amazing views of the Loch.
After visiting the castle, I hiked through the hills surrounding the Loch. One path called Craignore led to an impressive rock formation that is the site of an Iron Age fort. Furthermore, during the Viking era a battle was fought here. A Viking by the name of Moire was raiding in the area and attempted to get back to his ships while pursued by the native Scots. They caught up to him at this rock and in the battle Moire was slain. As a concession, they named the area after him, which isn't a bad legacy.
Another trail called Milton's trail, provide a view overlooking the town of Milton, one of the first company towns. This textile mill had it products shipped as far away as India.
Upon returning back to Inverness, I visited a small wildlife preserve and got a spectacular view of the Highland sunset. Tomorrow, I was to head for Glasgow, having seen much in the Highlands (but not even close to all there is to offer). As for the Loch Ness Monster, I'll admit that I never saw it. However, the 4 year old child sitting behind me on the bus back to Inverness claimed that he saw it every five minutes, so maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough.
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