Soulful bagpipes, soaring mountains, fields of purple heather and songs for every occasion. Scotland is a magical place.
I left the Isle of Skye and headed to Inverness. I had been there before on a cruise stop in 2009 and I absolutely love the Highlands. I feel at home. This is where Culloden is and you all know of my itty bitty crush on the fictional Jamie Fraser. I had booked Culloden House to stay in and I was very excited!
Check out these related posts!
The Isle of Skye
The Scottish Highlands: Culloden, Outlander & Jamie Fraser
Culloden House ~ Inverness ~ Scotland
I mention the Jacobite Uprising in some of my posts. Visit Scotland has more details in the link below if you’re interested and want to know more. The last one was in 1746 at Culloden Moor.
Visit Scotland – Jacobite Uprisings
The scenery is stunning in the Highlands and takes your breath away. I was driving down the road in my little rental car, “Highland Cathedral” playing and the volume all the way up! Window down, humming along and hitting the drums every now and then. My kind of fun.
Eilean Donan Castle
An iconic image of Scotland, three Lochs meet here ~ Loch Long, Loch Alsh and Loch Duich ~ the castle dates back to the 13th century and was involved in the Jacobite Uprisings. This was the castle in the 1980’s movie “Highlander” wtih Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery and also James Bond “The World Is Not Enough” with Pierce Brosnan.
Corrimony Chambered Cairn
The Corrimony Chambered Cairn is estimated to be about 4,000 years old and is surrounded by a circle of 11 standing stones.
Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness
Urquhart Castle is located on the shores of Loch Ness and dates back to the 13th century. At one time, Robert The Bruce controlled it and the castle played a part in the Jacobite Uprisings. I climbed the tower and took in the magnificent views surrounding me and of Loch Ness.
The home of the Loch Ness Monster! Did I see Nessie? She may have crossed my mind as I took my boots off and dangled my feet in the water.
Culloden Battlefield
Culloden Moor is a beautiful place. The final battle of the Jacobite Uprising took place here on 16 April 1746. In less than one hour, 1600 men died.
It’s one of those places where you can feel the history in the air knowing what took place on the ground where you’re walking.
National Trust of Scotland – Culloden
Clava Cairns
Located a few minutes away from Culloden Moor, these Clava Cairns are 4000 years old.
“The three prominent cairns form a line running north-east to south-west. The passages of the two cairns are also aligned towards the south-west, suggesting that the builders had their eyes on the midwinter sunset. The standing stones also suggest a focus on the midwinter sunset – they are graded in height with the tallest facing the setting sun in the south-west.” Historic Scotland
There was a part of me that really did want to fall through the rock into the 1700’s and get carried away on a horse by an almost 7 foot tall red-headed Highlander. I wonder if there’s a Starbucks at his castle?
Jackie is “Mom” to one amazing son, an IT professional, and an obsessed traveller. She spends her time reading, golfing at Ladies League, and implementing software projects. Jackie has travelled to 7 continents and 90 countries and is always planning the next destination and adventure!