On my ever-growing list of places I want to visit in the Scottish Highlands, there's a couple of places I've wanted to see since day 1. One of those was visiting the Culloden Battlefield site and Visitor Centre in Inverness. In the middle of January, I finally had a free day to visit.
Growing up in Scotland, I remember doing school project about the Jacobites and the Highland Clearances in primary school. I loved history growing up (and still do today). But growing up just outside Glasgow, it was hard to imagine what these massive events meant for Scotland then and how they might impact Scotland today.
Moving to the Scottish Highlands has changed my perception of these events. Driving through my home in Lochalsh now, it's so clear to see the way these events of almost 300 years ago have altered and shaped the landscape. The events that lead up to the Battle of Culloden have shaped so much of the Scottish Highlands, throughout the 18th century and right up until now.
One of my favourite things about visiting the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre was the balanced approach they took to sharing information in the run up to the battle. Throughout the exhibition, one side of the room was devoted to sharing the events from the Jacobites viewpoint, and the other side was devoted to sharing what happened from the Government viewpoint. Although I knew some information about the events leading up to the battle from the Jacobite viewpoint, I didn't know anything from the viewpoint of the Government. This really opened up the whole experience for me and helped me understand the moments and circumstances that lead up to the events of 1746.
Another highlight of visiting Culloden Battlefield was visiting Leanach Cottage, a little thatched roof cottage on the battlefield site. During the battle, the cottage was used by the Government soldiers as a field hospital. What I didn't realise about this cottage, though, was that throughout the 19th Century until 1912, there was a family of guides who lived in this cottage and showed tourists around the battlefield. I loved this little historical tidbit and it was a really cool fact about this little cottage
Heading out to the battlefield, after spending an hour in the visitor centre reading about the events that led up to battle and the aftermath of the events, did feel bleak. Realising how many people died in such a short space of time in a relatively small piece of land was really eye-opening to me. I spent a good 40 minutes wandering around the battlefield site, reading through the information plaques throughout and just feeling generally cold and sad (it was January after all).
It cost £10 to visit the Visitor Centre, as well as paying an additional £5 for parking. Visiting the battlefield on it's own is free, but I would really recommend spending the time getting to fully understand the events that before and after the battle. It was a really informative and insightful way to find out more about how this event shaped the lives of those living in Scotland for many years to come.