Homeward Bound

Sadly, today is our last day on the Highland Explorer Tour.  It has been a wonderful tour.  I learned a lot from traveling through an unique part of Scotland and learning from our guides, Dave and Don.  We also have a great group of travelers on the bus, from different countries:  Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France, and the USA.  I will write more about this group in the next post.

Leaving Inverness, our first stop was The Culloden Battlefield.

The Battle of Culloden was fought here on April 16, 1746, when the Jacobites forces of Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, fought the British Government-backed forces led by William Augusts, Duke of Cumberland.  The Jacobites got its name from Jacobus, the Latinized version of the name James.  It is a political movement to restore the Roman Catholic King James II and his heirs to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.  The Jacobite movement is strong in the Scottish Highlands and you hear a lot about the Jacobites while traveling in this area.  In this battle, the Jacobites, composed mostly of Scottish Highlanders, were massacred by the British soldiers.  An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Jacobites were killed here and there were memorials all over this battlefield to commemorate the clans who fought and were killed in this battle.  Following their defeat, the Scots were forced to abandon two important traditions:  language and clans.  They were forced to integrate into the British Empire.  You can read more the Battle at this official National Trust of Scotland website.

After the Culloden Battlefield, we stopped at a prehistoric site and then the Highland Folk Museum.  Here are displays of how the Scots lived in the Highland before modern amenities were available.  Our final stop of the journey was in Dunkeld, where we saw the Dunkeld Cathedral.  Fittingly, here is where I finally found my Scottish ancestry - the beautiful River Tay.  Not only is there a River Tay, there is only the Firth of Tay, Tayport, Newport-on-Tay, Loch Tay, etc.  Nearby there is a Taybank restaurant.  Also in the vicinity are the famed Scottish golf courses, Carnoustie and St. Andrews.  Wonder why I still can't play good golf.

This is an emotional site for many Scots

A memorial for one of the clans

The Scots will always remember this as their massacre

Dave, our guide, in traditional kilt, explained about the battle

Information board about the battle

Information about the prehistoric site

A prehistoric structure - 3,000 to 4,000 years old

Highland Folk Museum - about life from 1700 to 1930s'

A woodcutters' workshop in the early 20th century

A Highland house

We stopped to have a nice hike in this area of tall trees

Dunkeld Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

Bridge over the River Tay

Proof that I am Scottish

This is downtown Dunkeld - 1 street