The Highlands, Part II

So on we go through the Scottish Highlands.  Our next stop was the beautiful Culloden House which is just south of Culloden Battlefield.  This is the house Bonnie Prince Charlie used as lodging and headquarters prior to the fateful battle on Culloden Moor. (And for you Outlander fans, the place where Jamie Fraser killed Dougal Mackenzie.)  It is a manor house from the 17th century built in the Adam style, yet oddly, the Adams Family did not live here, but rather Duncan Forbes who was high muckity-muck in the Scottish Parliament prior to the battle of Culloden.  Now it is a very beautiful high-end hotel which features a legitimate croquet field.  On the day of our visit the National American Croquet Team was visiting.  ☺  Please see press photos below.

US Croquet Champions

Culloden House

 In the elegant drawing room, Chris and Sofie found an elegant chess set which pitted the Protestants (headed by the Duke of Cumberland) against the Catholics (headed by the Bonnie Prince) and a bloody game ensued.  Chris ended up with a sprained thumb and Sofie a hang nail, and after a kerfuffle of sorts, Noah declared the game a draw.

Culloden Battle chess set (Bonnie Prince Charlie on the right)

From there we visited Cawdor Castle 10 miles to the northeast.  Cawdor is considered one of the most elegant castles in Scotland and the gardens are especially magnificent.  Legend has it that a donkey (laden with gold) rested beneath a holly tree and based on this equine need for rest, the castle was built on that spot.  The tree, which died in the 1370s, can still be viewed in the lower level of the castle, although the donkey has moved on.  Cawdor is a living castle, meaning the Dowager Countess of Cawdor still holds residence there, so no photos of the interior were allowed.  This is a shame, as the furnishings and tapestries were exquisite and the home was extremely well appointed.  I would have especially liked to have shown you the collection of 18th century muskets that were arranged in a semi circle above the grand stairwell. 



Front of Cawdor Castle

The rear of the castle from the garden

Natural arch in gardens

On the drawbridge

The largest attraction in the Highlands has to be Loch Ness and the mythical beast known fondly by  locals as Nessie.  Loch Ness literally starts just south of Inverness and extends 35 miles with the width of 1-2 miles.  It alone contains more than half of all of the freshwater in the United Kingdom.  With a depth of 700 feet, the entire human population could fit in this space 3 times over!  Despite this, the big draw is Nessie whose first "sighting" was in the 6th century by St. Columba, who tried to cast the water demon from the loch.  The Loch Ness visitor's center at Drumnadrochite has a great exhibit on the Nessie legend, pretty much    **spoiler alert**    debunking the presence of the monster in Loch Ness.  Apparently, teams of sonar boats patrolled the loch for many years without finding any evidence of a creature bigger than about 5 feet.  In addition, there would not be a large enough food source to sustain a creature of Nessie's purported size.  Sorry, true believers!  In any event, the visitor's center is excellent, the loch is beautiful and Castle Urquhart on the banks of the loch is a interesting and impressive structure that adds to the magical feel of the area.

Urquhart Castle along Loch Ness

Entrance to the castle

The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Ness

East of Loch Ness we found Plodda Falls (based on an ice cream vendor's recommendation) which was very reminiscent of a Hawaiian rainforest.   There are two wooden viewing platforms, one at the mouth of the falls and the other near the bottom, replacing an old iron bridge built by Lord Tweedmouth in 1889.  The area around the falls is a rich and diverse woodland.  Around 1900, Lord Tweedmouth planted a large number of Douglas Fir, Larch, Giant Redwood and specimen conifers. Together with the native tree population they have combined to provide an ideal habitat for the red squirrel (a hold over from the Soviet era?) and a wide variety of birds and insects.   Some of the Douglas Firs are now an impressive 200ft tall. 

Upper Plodda Falls

Lower Plodda Falls

Posers at Plodda Falls

Scottish Highlands traffic jam

We left the Highlands traveling north to the Orkney Islands (more about them later) and on the way stopped in the village of Dornoch where pop star Madonna was married at the Dornoch Cathedral some years ago.  While there, we visited the cathedral kirkyard (kirk is the old English word for church) and learned a thing or two about plaids and kilts.  A note for clarity:  a tartan is a style of plaid that identifies family or clan linkage.  A tweed is a woven pattern that symbolizes which estate the wearer of the tweed belongs to, independent of whether or not you were a worker or family member.  For centuries local fairs were held weekly in the local kirkyards where tradesmen and villagers would buy and sell goods and livestock.  By the mid 18th century the livestock (mainly pigs) began rooting into the graves during the fairs and so a walled fence was built to separate the pigs from the graves, which led to the market being held outside of the kirkyard.  The Plaiden Ell was a stone of fixed measure laid in the kirkyard for the purchase of plaid or tartan.  If a merchant cheated a buyer by cutting the fabric too short, the merchant was put in the stocks and pelted with rubbish.  The Plaiden Ell at Durnoch Cathedral is one of only 3 remaining in Scotland.   

Plaiden Ell

Ice cream stop at the Mercat (market) Cross

One last mention of the Highlands would be to comment again on the expansive views and beauty seen through these travels.  Driving through this area offers miles and miles of rolling farmland accented by yellow canola fields and golden flowering Gorse bushes, dramatic sea cliffs and dense forest..  Here are some random shots to give you a sense of place.

Nairn to the Moray Firth

Abandoned estate near Plodda Falls

Highland View

Highland View

Nairn sunset