Invergordon
Saturday we travelled up the channel to Invergordon accompanied by several gannets, on a bright, partly sunny morning with temperature around 17c. Arrived at the dock by Noon. Invergordon is a town and port in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland with a population of around 4,000. Our tour today started at 12:45pm with about 30 of us. Our tour guide was a German lady named Giesala and our bus driver was Lez, complete with kilt. The day remained mostly dry with a few light showers. Our first destination was Cawdor Castle, so we drove along the coast to pass through Inverness on our way. Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands in the north of Scotland. Long regarded as the de facto capital of the Scottish Highlands with a population of about 48,000. Just past Inverness we came to Cawdor Castle around 1:45pm. After entry we were given handheld audio devices which described the various rooms in the castle, all of which are well preserved. We entered Cawdor Castle through its iron yett gate, moat & drawbridge. The turrets, turnpike stairs and vaulted 16th century kitchen are steeped in history. It is built around a 15th-century tower house, with substantial additions in later centuries. Originally a property of the Calder family, it passed to the Campbells in the 16th century. It remains in Campbell ownership, and is now home to Angelica Campbell, Dowager Countess Cawdor, stepmother of Colin Campbell, 7th Earl of Cawdor. We were able to visit the 12 principal rooms which included drawing rooms, bedrooms, tree room and old kitchen. The home contains collections of Rare Tapestries, Fine Art, Furniture, Ceramics and Sculpture spanning 3,500 years. Exiting the house we then wandered the impressive grounds and gardens. The flower garden was of great interest. 3:30pm saw us back on the bus and headed the short distance to Culloden. The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stewart (Bonnie PrinceCharlie) was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby ending the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobite losses were between 1,500 and 2,000 killed or wounded, many in the pursuit after the battle. After his flight from the battle, Charles Edward Stuart made his way towards the Hebrides and eventually back to France, never to return to Scotland. There is now a visitor centre and we were able to walk out across the battle site which is just wild, open ground. There is a memorial cairn and also the old Leanach Cottage: This little thatched cottage was used as a field hospital for Government soldiers immediately after the battle. We were back on the bus by 4:15pm and returned to Invergordon by 5pm.
Highlight of the day: Butterfly on the flower
