This past weekend, Chloe and I got up to more Scottish adventures in Inverness.
My first trip to Inverness was actually on my first day in Scotland, so this wasn’t my first time in Inverness. We weren’t doing the main touristy things there – we had a plan in mind. We chose this weekend because it was the 270th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden and we thought it would be a pretty cool time to go!
We actually had three whole days in Inverness, which was probably too much, honestly. Compared to Edinburgh, there’s not a whole lot going on and not a whole lot of places to explore. But we arrived and walked around a bit and went to a cafe, made plans for the weekend, and picked up dinner. Probably the most interesting thing was that it was hailing on-and-off for the whole afternoon. It was also kind of sunny. That’s Scotland for you.
The next morning, we got up really early, and tried to get a bus at 8:30 or so. It turns out all the bus routes in Inverness have changed drastically in the past year. So the bus that Chloe took when she went to Culloden last time doesn’t exist anymore. We did figure it out and found another bus that would work.
We finally got a bus and then ended up having to walk a mile or mile and a half instead of getting dropped off in the parking lot of the battlefield. We still made pretty good time, though.
We planned to go through the museum for about an hour and then see what was going on with the ceremony. The museum is really good, because it tells the history of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 from both the Jacobite side and the government side. There’s also a 360 degree reenactment film of the battle, which is very moving. It feels like you’re right on the front lines. It definitely made it a lot more real in my head.
We then headed out on the battlefield. We got an audio guide, which tells you certain things depending on where you are on the battlefield using GPS, which I think is pretty cool. So we walked around a bit and listened to some history, then we headed to the cairn.
The cairn is the memorial for all the men who died in the Battle of Culloden. It’s also where the service was being held, so that’s where everyone was gathered. Most people processed in carrying flags and signs and wearing kilts. There was even a bagpiper. We didn’t actually stay that long because it was really cold.
We went back to the visitors center and there was folk music, a family history table, and lots of people milling around. We got some tea and thawed out a bit, then I actually ended up chatting to the guy at the family history table. Both sides of my family have Scottish heritage. We know a lot more about my mom’s side than my dad’s so I was asking him about where my name came from, and he said Kinross! I was so excited because I went there last summer. I’m definitely going to see if I can find out more about the history there and see if I can track down the ancestor that last lived in Scotland.
After that exciting discovery, we went to get on the bus only to find out that the only bus that runs from the parking lot on Saturdays is the one that goes away from Inverness. So we walked the mile or so back to the other bus stop and got that one back.
When we got back to Inverness, we picked up lunch and headed to the train station. We had decided the previous day to go on a tour of a whisky distillery. We picked one that we could easily get to without having to deal with another issue with the buses, which was nice. The distillery we picked was called Glen Ord, which is a 20-minute train ride from Inverness and then a 15-minute walk. It was much easier to get to than the battlefield!
We weren’t allowed to take any pictures on the tour, but it was really interesting to learn about how whisky is made. Every step, how long they spend on each step, and every seemingly insignificant detail changes the flavor. I was also really interested in the fact that they use both sherry casks and bourbon casks to age the whisky. I was actually pretty much interested in everything. I would love to tour another distillery!
And of course at the end of our tour, we of course got a dram to try. I’d only tasted whisky once before, so I wasn’t really sure if I was going to like it, but I was surprised to find that after the intense throat-burning feeling the aftertaste was quite nice.
After the tour, we headed back to Inverness. We had some quiet time after quite an early start to the day, which was much needed. Then we headed to dinner. We were both in the mood for pizza, but unfortunately I have recently discovered that I am lactose intolerant. We did a little research and found out that there was a restaurant in Inverness that has vegan pizza! I was so excited. So we went there and it was pretty good.
When we finished dinner, we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the river that goes through town. We headed back to the flat we were staying in and had a really nice, relaxed evening.
The next morning, we had another slow morning, which included watching the newest episode of Outlander while eating our breakfast, which was so nice! Then we headed out. We took the same bus as the day before and went to the same stop.
This time we walked about two and a half miles to get to Clava Cairns.
At that site, there are cairns and standing stones they have dated back to at least 1,000 BC! That’s insane. The cairns were all built to align with the rising and setting of the sun during the midwinter months. Apparently there were semiprecious stones in the rocks, which would be illuminated by the sun on and around the winter solstice.
We had the place to ourselves the whole time we were there and as soon as we left, about 5 cars turned up. So our timing was pretty good! We headed back to Inverness again. We didn’t really have any plans for the rest of the day, so we hung around the flat and the got Indian food just before getting the train back to Edinburgh.
We’ve decided that we’d like to come back and go to Cawdor Castle (and probably some other whisky distilleries in the area). There’s still a lot we haven’t done in the Highlands, because it generally requires more than a day trip. This trip was really relaxing and also got me really excited about getting to the harder-to-get-to places in Scotland!
