Scotland Vacation October 2023 - Culloden, Balmoral Castle

We had a hard time figuring out exactly how we wanted to spend day 5 in Scotland. There was so much we wanted to see  - Fort George, Culloden, Clava Cairns, Balmoral Castle - before making the 2.5 hour drive to our next lodging destination. We decided to start our day by going to learn more about Culloden.

We arrived just in time to join a walking tour with a guide who told us the history of the Culloden battlefield. Memorial markers started being place at the battlefield in the 1820s. These stone memorial markers were added in 1994. 

The National Trust maintains about half of the original battlefield. Our guide said the Forestry Department owns another large part of it and they are selling it off to build houses. The National Trust is fighting to stop it. 

This area is where the Jacobites went through to engage in the battle. It is a muddy, boggy area.

Leanach Cottage. The cottage was most likely built in the early 18th century, probably as part of wider improvements on Culloden estate and originally would have been a T-shaped structure. In the 17th and 18th century estate owners provided their tenants with the wood for their roof crucks while the tenant was responsible for the construction of the walls of their houses.The walls were often made from local stone and/or turf at the gable ends.

Picture of the cottage as it looked in the 1800s before it was restored. Our tour guide said the stones from a cottage built in the 1600s have withstood time even though there is evidence that the cottage has been burned many times.

Memorial Wall on visitors center - each stone sticking out of this wall represents someone who died in the Culloden battle in 1746.

There were many interesting exhibits in the visitor's center and several live demonstrations. This woman was hand-spinning wool.

We left Culloden and started our drive to Balmoral Castle. The roads through the highlands gave way to stunning scenery. We did not see many other cars while we were driving. We stopped for lunch in Tomintoul. It is the highest village in the highlands. We ate at Clockhouse Restaurant. It was one of the only places open in town. They are closing next week as it is the end of the season. They, the other restaurants, and most of the shops will reopen in April.

I had delicious soup and a sandwich for lunch. The sandwich was called The Forager. It was an open face sandwich made with mushrooms, leek bechemel, and gruyere cheese.

A few pics of our drive to Balmoral

The grounds of Balmoral Castle were open to the public but all parts of the castle itself were closed. At some times of the year, there are tours inside parts of the castle. We enjoyed walking around the grounds and seeing the gardens.

Foundation stone for Balmoral Castle. The estate was purchased by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria. The original building was torn down and rebuilt because it was too small.

View from the back of Balmoral Castle.

Garden at back of the castle.

There were so many HUGE trees on the grounds.

We left Balmoral and continued our drive to our next destination. I loved driving through the Highlands.

There were many road sign warnings about sheep crossing the road. These sheep were the closets to the road that we saw.