Saturday, July 11 2026
Overnight heavy rain and thunderstorms had become moderate rain by the time I had eaten breakfast and was leaving North Kessock as shown in the video snapshot below.
My first visit of the day was to Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre a few miles south of North Kessock and the weather was pretty much the same when I arrived. I decided to buy a ticket to just visit the museum as I did not see any value in paying extra to walk on Culloden moor, in the rain, to see the actual battlefield. Unfortunately, the museum does not allow photography so I have nothing to show you.
After the exile of James II to France in 1688 the Jacobites (a group named after the latin for James), mounted several uprisings against the British government and the House of Hanover to return the House of Stuart to the English and Scottish thrones. The Jacobites, whose core support was in Scotland but were helped by factions in England, Ireland and, particularly, France, were finally defeated at Culloden in 1746. The victory here ended the Stuart claims to the throne and triggered the British government to impose a brutal crackdown on the traditional clans culture, including the wearing of tartans and speaking Gaelic – leading the way to the harmonization of Scotland and England in a consolidated United Kingdom.
The museum at the visitor centre did a great job by telling the stories of the Jacobites (lead by Bonnie Prince Charlie) and the British forces (lead by the Duke of Cumberland) in parallel on opposite sides of a timeline corridor, followed by a surround video re-enactment of the battle itself. I hated history as a school subject but now enjoy presentations of this type.
My second stop was at Balmoral Castle, the Scottish home of the current British monarchy and the place where they always gather for New Year. Unfortunately, only one room in the castle is open to the public and, again, no photography is permitted. The room is the ballroom and I had expected it to be presented as it would be for a royal ball but, instead, it simply contained display cases of royal objects, costumes and many photographs of the Royal Family at Balmoral. It was really quite uninspiring.
I only spent about 45 minutes there before heading to my B&B through the Cairngorms National Park which was scenic but more rolling hills of green than the rugged beauty of the highlands. The video screenshot below is of one of the more scenic areas.
I don’t have a TV to watch tonight’s world cup game between England and Norway so I guess I will get a good night’s sleep.
You would have enjoyed the game. Love, Kusum
I did see it and enjoyed the result, although the game was not magical.
Hope you are both doing well.