25/10/2024
This was to be one of those busy days. They happen sometimes. Unexpectedly we find ourselves able to stuff a lot of activity into a single day. This morning we set off from Nairn towards Culloden, the first stop in our packed day.
Culloden
Culloden Moor is a stark and dreary location, an atmosphere of gloom seems to hang over the empty landscape. Much of what is important about the battlefield is underground, hidden from sight under the grass, it’s importance only understood because of the historical records and archaeology.
Last time we visited, probably 20 years ago, we were underwhelmed. I don’t remember there being much in the way of context to help us understand what we were seeing. This time we knew there was a ‘new’ visitor centre so were hoping for a more informed experience.
We drove from Nairn to Culloden in the morning and got parked up. A quick enquiry in the ticket office and we were assured that we didn’t need to pay for parking, it was all part of our National Trust membership.
The new visitor centre was a huge improvement. We walked through the displays which showed the perspectives of the Jacobites and the British government side by side, charting the events that led up to the battle, the battle itself and it’s aftermath. It was very well done and balanced in it’s portrayal of different viewpoints. We found it easy to lose ourselves, zig zagging from side to side through the information boards, testimonials and displays. For me it still felt a little depressing, a story of repression, tactical mistakes and Charles’ overwhelming hubris.
Monument on the battlefield at Culloden
One room has been set aside to give a 360 degree simulation of the battlefield. Although it was a little contrived it’s quite atmospheric. In the largest area a talk was being given on the way in which the armies used their tactics and weapons. Paul opted out of joining the demonstration of musket firing while I nursed a small resentment that the person giving the talk only chose men to ‘join the army’. Not that I would have been any more enthusiastic about joining in than Paul.
With the background provided we walked around the battlefield. It’s still a featureless landscape but easier to understand how the armies came to the location and their forces clashed in the last pitched battle on UK soil.
Culloden battlefield from the viewing platform on the roof of the visitor centre.
Clava Cairns
Clava Cairns is not far from Culloden. This is a historic site of a completely different nature with the remains of three large bronze age cairns. There was enough parking for us to fit easily, although I imagine it might get a little more congested in summer.
As with many prehistoric sites there is some debate over the use of these cairns. Human remains were found and a few artefacts, indicating that they were used as burial mounds. The corridors of two of them align with the sun on the midwinter solstice, implying they had some ceremonial function. And the archaeology indicates they were reused about 1000 years after they were first constructed. These cairns don’t stand alone either. The area has many other cairns and standing stones from a similar era.
Whatever the cairns were intended for we may never know, but it was interesting to walk around and use our imaginations to consider why people 4000 years ago would have been willing to spend their time and energy building these massive structures.
Rogie Falls
After Clava Cairns we drove onto Inverness where we topped up fuel and LPG. A supermarket stop topped up essential food and drink.
Our destination for the night was Silver Bridge but on the way we saw the car park for Rogie Falls and decided to stop for some lunch. It was an unintended stop but ended up being one one of our more memorable experiences.
From Rogie Falls car park a couple of walks were marked. So after lunch we picked the longer ‘Riverside Trail’ which was a very easy 1.5km. It was a pleasant short walk up through the forest to a small rocky crag and then alongside the river to a bridge over the Black Water. Signs said that salmon were often seem leaping here but we were sure that we were too late to see anything. We stood on the bridge watching the waterfalls when Paul said “I think I saw something”. Out of the corner of his eye, not in the falls, but in the nearby salmon ladder, he had seen a flash. We switched our attention and I started filming. We must have seen about a dozen fish of varying sizes trying to climb the ladder. Including one which bounced off the rock and was thrown back down to the pool below. You can see the video on our Instagram and Facebook feeds.
Bridge for Salmon Watching
We were joined in this spectator sport by a couple of American tourists who were on an escorted tour with their guide in formal Scottish dress. He said he hadn’t ever seen any fish jumping the ladder, they had all been on the waterfalls when he’d visited previously. He did also tell us that salmon can be seen leaping at all times of the year, and that all salmon jump. It’s just that in early autumn you have a much higher chance of seeing them because that’s when the spawning salmon are trying to make their way upstream.
Rogie Falls
Silver Bridge
Having spent a lot longer than expected watching fish, we moved on to our overnight spot at Silver Bridge. This is a forestry parking spot. It isn’t part of the Stay the Night scheme. But there aren’t any No Overnight Parking signs either, unlike other forestry parking in the area. There is also a toilet but it was closed for repairs when we arrived and remained that way overnight once the maintenance team had left.
This was only meant to be an overnight stop but it was still light. I walked down to take a look at the river and decided that it was worth doing the short ‘Two Bridges Trail’. I popped back to collect Paul and we set off, crossing Silver Bridge and proceeding under the new road bridge.
Silver Bridge
We followed the river from a path high above it’s bank with good distant views of hills and the russet and green mix of the autumn forest. At Little Garve a slightly older bridge allowed us to cross the river again. This bridge was built as part of a programme of military road building in the 18th century, known as General Wade’s Roads’. The road building was prompted by the Jacobite rebellion, linking us neatly back to our visit to Culloden.
Little Garve Bridge
The way back up the river followed closely to the waters edge with close up views of the rocks and waterfalls of the river. We wondered if we would see more fish jumping but didn’t have the leisure to stand and watch as we were starting to lose the light and hadn’t bought torches with us.
This area is definitely somewhere we would come back to for more exploration, especially in autumn when the colours are so vibrant.
Parked up at Silver Bridge