Thursday, June 16, 2011

Culloden battle, Cawdor Castle & Loch Ness



The Battle of Culloden in 1746 lasted only about an hour.  It was the attempt of Bonnie Prince Charlie to rally the Highland clans around him, to fight the English  and set up Scottish rule again.
It was Scottish highlanders with swords and claymores and a few muskets against English troops with mortar, guns and bayonets!  The highlanders were defeated and Bonnie Prince Charlie retreated and fled to France.  he above is the cairn in memory of the Highlanders who died there.

Above is the battle field which is totally flat and covered with heather.

Cawdor Castle
Cawdor Castle is the castle setting in MacBeth.  We toured the open part of the castle, while part of it is still lived in by the Dowager(widow) Countess Cawdor.
There are huge tapestries on the walls, hard to imagine actually living there.  They had a wall garden and formal garden both were beautiful!





Loch Ness



Loch Ness is the largest inland lake in all the United Kingdom. It is 24 miles long and one mile wide in some parts.  We took an hour boat ride on the Loch, very beautiful and relaxing.  We viewed an old castle from the water.  We had a few ducks landing on the edge of the boat and pecking at us for food, but no sight of Nessie.



Oh wait! There she is!!!  Took the picture after Steve fainted!


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