We began this day with a gathering on the ship near Vines Wine Bar at 7:15 a.m. and proceeded off the ship in a group of 19 Cruise Critic members. Our tour company was a group called “Clans & Castles”. They were actually giving 3 identical tours to our groups, each with a separate vehicle, guide, and 15-20 people in it. The booking agent and guide, Mr. Alastair Cunningham, is shown by one of the busses in his kilt.
This is one tour that Sylvia & I actually booked for our group of 19.
The day started out as a somewhat grey day in Scotland. Here it’s difficult to distinguish between the sea and the sky.
As we got away from the sea the sky got lighter and we saw the green fields of summertime in Scotland. Here is a farmhouse complete with thatched roof setting in a beautiful field.
Our first stop was at the Culloden Battlefield where there are various markers showing the burial places of those killed in the battle. The Battle of Culloden took place in April 1746 between forces of the British Government and Scottish Highland clansmen led by the Scottish King known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”.
Memorial for Battle of Culloden erected in 1881.
Very near this same area are the Clava Cairns dating back to around 2000BC. These burials are properly called the Prehistoric Burial Cairns or Balnuaran of Clava. The North East and South West Cairns are knows as passage graves. Here the inner chamber remains linked to the outside world by a passage. Both are no more than 3ft or so in height, but when originally constructed the cairns are likely to have been around 10ft in height.
lovely view of Scottish Highland area
Clydesdale horses in field (black dot is on the bus window)
Our next stop was Cawdor Castle which we toured. This castle belongs to the Clan Calder. It still serves as home to the Dowager Countess Cawdor, stepmother of Colin Robert Vaughan Campbell, 7th (and present) Earl Cawdor and 25th Thane of Cawdor. The castle is perhaps best known for its literary connection to William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, the title character of which was made Thane of Cawdor. However, the story is highly fictionalized, and the castle itself was built many years after the events of the play. Originally consisting only of the large tower (or keep), the castle was expanded numerous times in the succeeding centuries, with significant additions made in the 17th century and 19th century. If ever you plan a trip to this area and are seeking a place to stay visit www.caudorcastle.com
The lovely gardens of Cawdor Castle.
Leaving Cawdor Castle we traveled to the city of Inverness where we stopped for a couple of hours for lunch and a stroll.
Our stroll took us past this church and graveyard.
And, brought us back to this beautiful River Ness.
Back in the highlands, we found no black sheep but did see beautiful, green fields.
And more of the lovely highlands.
In this beautiful view note the tall building on the water, just to the right of the trees. It is the ruins of Urquhart Castle by Lock Ness.
This is a replica of an ancient Trebuchet used for throwing large rocks. It is found on the grounds of Urquhart Castle.
Urquhart Castle sits beside Loch Ness close to the village of Drumnadrochit. Though extensively ruined, it was in its day one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland, and remains an impressive structure, splendidly situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness. It is also near this castle that the majority of Nessie ( Loch Ness Monster) sightings occur.
From Urquhart Castle we traveled to Beauly Priory.
'C'est un beau lieu', from the French, “what a beautiful place”, was Mary Queen of Scots reaction to the grandeur of the scene when she stayed in Beauly in the 16th century, and local tradition credits the naming of the village to her.
The buildings of the village…
Finally, we made our way back to the Crown Princess shortly after 5 p.m.
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