Culloden Battlefield

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Culloden Battlefield

  • November 18, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom
Culloden Battlefield

At Culloden Battlefield Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite army were crushed by the English on 16 April 1796. As great battles go, Culloden was short - about one hour and with an immediate death toll of 1,300. But the defeat of the Scottish clansmen and their Jacobite leaders is an event still shrouded in gloom. This was the last hand to hand battle ever to be fought on British soil. Pick a gray and gloomy day - as we did - to visit this windswept plain where Scotland's dream of regaining the throne died a poignant death.

The site has been restored to as close as possible to that seen by the forces in 1746. A new visitors centre, officially opened by the Queen this year, helps to revive awareness of the battle.

The Visitors Centre's audiovisual presentation gives a good introduction to the complicated politics leading up to Culloden. In 1603 England and Scotland joined their crowns when James Stuart became King of England. In 1715 the first Jacobite Rebellion - so called because they were trying to restore James Stuart to the joint throne was led by the son of England's deposed King James II - James Stuart, often called the Old Pretender. His son, Charles, led a second and more persuasive Jacobite rebellion in 1745.

Prince Charlie's dashing personality at first won many supporters, but none of them made good on their promises. His army of 5,000 nevertheless faced an English force 9,000 strong led by the Duke of Cumberland and in 40 minutes the battle was lost. Prince Charlie escaped and fled to France.

In the walk through museum, high tech gizmos abound. Stand beneath one of the hypersonic sound stations and the words of a battlefield character, using technology developed for the US military are whispered in your ears.

There is a film - the Battle Immersion film, 4 minutes long and 360 degrees which helps you relive the horror of the battle. It is not at all suitable for children but is fascinating and gorey in equal measure.

There are regular weapons demonstrations given by guides in traditional costumes which are very interesting. For the children they have a big dressing up box, so they can become a clansman for the day.

You can go up to the roof area and from here get a different view of the battlefield and an appreciation of its scale.

Before you go outside to the battlefield itself, you can pick up handheld battlefield guides They operate by satellite, so give you information dependant on where you walk.

Follow the path from the visitors centre around the battlefield with its several marked sites. The Field of the English is a graveyard for English soldiers; the Graves of the Clans are where the communal burial places for the dead of each clan are located and the giant Cumberland Stone is where the Duke of Cumberland was said to have stood watching the victory.

The centre is open all year round - 9:00am until 6:00pm until the end of October, and it has shorter opening hours in winter. Entrance costs £10 for adults and £7.50 for children, but if you are a National Trust member it is free. The entrance includes the handheld electronic battlefield guide. We spent about 4 hours in total here.

From journal 5 Days in the Scottish Highlands

Editor Pick

Culloden Battlefield

  • March 13, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by shaunandtrish from Durham, United Kingdom
Culloden Battlefield

On April 16, 1746, the last pitched battle to take place on British soil occurred on the battlefield of Culloden, about 5 miles east of Inverness. There is more about the history and background to the altercation here.

Ultimately, it brought an end to the sporadic civil uprisings between the highland clans and the English government and its Scottish supporters. It was a bloody affair that took less than 1 hour to reach a conclusion, to all intents and purposes, a massacre. The site of the battle has been preserved and now supports a nice visitor centre that attempts to give an impression of what Jacobite life was like at the time. This includes a recreated stone cottage to the rear and various artifacts inside. Its about £3 to get inside, but you can view the battlefield for nothing.

In all honesty, there's not much to see, but the attraction is to be able to identify with the conditions, terrain, and undeniable atmosphere under which several thousand men attempted to knock seven bells out of each other and to experience the site on which many men died in a very short space of time. See it at its best, when the weather is not that good, to experience the eeriness of the site.

The parking isn't free unless you're quick like I was. Don't wear your best shoes if you want to walk around the battlefield.

From journal Scotland - Assorted Traveller Tips and Recommendations

Editor Pick

Culloden Battlefield

  • July 6, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by UPSCWRU from Dayton, Ohio
Culloden Battlefield

Culloden is the site of the last battle to be fought on British soil, on 16 April 1746. Led by the "dashing" Prince Charles Edward Stuart, known to all as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", the Jacobite forces faced the overwhelming might of the Government army and paid the price for their loyalty to the Stuart cause. Even today, Charlie has the reputation of a great leader, but in reality he was weak and easily swayed, and his tendency to act on the last words he heard led to the destruction of the Jacobite cause.

The site of the battle, Drumossie Moor, now known as Culloden, is approximately 10 miles from Inverness, on the B9006. It is a wild and desolate-looking place - a deliberate effort by the National Trust for Scotland, who own the site and are attempting to restore it to something approaching the conditions prevailing in 1746. There is an excellent heritage centre, with a display of Jacobite artefacts and a film which enables the visitor to learn about the background to the Jacobite Rising and the battle which ended their cause.

The suggested route around the battlefield takes you past the positions of the various regiments on the day of the battle, but if you get the opportunity, join a guided tour, which lasts for about an hour and costs about £4.00, on top of your entry fee. It is money well spent. Our tour was led by a Highland gentleman, resplendent in plaid, who was able to demonstrate the causes of disaster and brought the events of the day to life in a way that walking around holding a guidebook just cannot.

There are memorials dotted around the site to all the clans who lost men - the bodies are buried in trenches, whose headstones bear the names of the clans. Local tradition has it that heather, which otherwise predominates, will not grow over the graves.

An evocative and desolate place, but if you are interested in history it is an absolute must-see on your travel itinerary. It is impossible not to be affected by it.

More information may be found at this website.

From journal Driving Through Scotland

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