Culloden, the last battle of the clans

Culloden is the moor near Inverness where, on 16 April 1746, the last pitched battle on British soil was fought. In less than an hour the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", was defeated by the government troops of the Duke of Cumberland, and with it ended the dream of restoring the Stuarts to the throne and the traditional world of the Highland clans. Today the battlefield, managed by the National Trust for Scotland, is an intense and silent place of remembrance, with a modern visitor centre.

History

In 1688 the Catholic King James II Stuart was deposed and forced into exile. His supporters, called Jacobites from the Latin Jacobus, tried several times to restore the dynasty to the throne. In 1745 James's grandson, the young Charles Edward, born and raised in Rome, landed in Scotland and gathered an army of Highland clans. The Jacobites took Edinburgh and pushed as far south as Derby, just over 200 kilometres from London, but then decided to retreat to Scotland.

On 16 April 1746, on Drummossie Moor near Culloden, around 5,000 tired and hungry Jacobites faced around 8,000 well-armed government soldiers. The boggy ground and artillery fire broke the clans' charge: in less than an hour between 1,500 and 2,000 Jacobites were killed, against a few dozen government troops. After the battle the repression was brutal: the wounded were killed, rebel lands confiscated, and tartan, the kilt and weapons were banned by law. Charles Edward fled and, after months on the run among the islands, returned to exile; he died in Rome in 1788.

What to see

The visitor centre

The visitor centre tells the story of the battle from both sides, Jacobite and government, with documents, weapons, personal belongings and eyewitness accounts. The most powerful moment is the immersion theatre, where a film on four walls places the visitor in the middle of the fighting, between the lines of the two armies. From the roof there is an overview of the whole battlefield.

The battlefield

On the moor, red and blue flags mark the positions of the two armies. Along the paths you come across the 1881 memorial cairn, six metres high, the clan stones marking the mass graves of the fallen, with the names of Fraser, Mackintosh, Stewart of Appin and others, the Well of the Dead and Leanach Cottage, a farm cottage that survived the battle. Many visitors of Scottish descent come here to lay flowers at their clan's stone.

Culloden and Outlander

The battlefield has also become famous worldwide thanks to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novels and the television series based on them, in which the battle plays a central role. Many fans visit Culloden along with the series' other locations in Scotland. The National Trust asks visitors to respect the battlefield as a burial ground.

Practical information

The visitor centre is open all year, except over Christmas; the battlefield can also be visited outside opening hours. On 16 April, the anniversary of the battle, a commemoration is held. The wind on the moor is often strong, so bring a jacket. Opening times and prices are on the National Trust for Scotland website.

Getting there

• By bus: from Inverness on the local bus, in about 30 minutes.
• By car: about 10 kilometres east of Inverness, on the B9006; pay car park.
• By air: Inverness Airport is about 15 minutes away.

Nearby

• The Clava Cairns, Bronze Age burial cairns and stone circles, a few minutes away.
• Fort George, the great fortress built after Culloden to control the Highlands, and Cawdor Castle.
• Inverness and Loch Ness. See also the history of Scotland.

Tips

• How long: an hour and a half to two hours.
• When to go: all year round; early in the morning the battlefield is quiet and atmospheric.
• A tip: after the visitor centre, walk slowly among the clan stones: that is where you understand the weight of that April morning.

Culloden on the map

Nearby