10:16 AM
Culloden Moor, 1746. Cannons are booming. Armies are marching forward. The heather is stained with blood. Sleet is blowing in our faces.
Culloden Moor, 1998. There is an occasional gentle rumble in the sky and the soft chirping of blackbirds. The Moor is beautiful and peaceful, what with the sun bearing down on it from an almost cloudless cyan sky. Closing my eyes, I can see quite clearly the battle, hear the cannons and the roaring of the dying. How can such a beautiful place, such a peaceful place be remembered for such evil?
12:34 pm.
Oh, Bonnie, bonnie Cawdor! The original tower dates back to the 14th century, but most of what I saw was 17th century onward. I did descend some of those narrow flagstone circular stairs I’ve written about. Boy are they scary ! Imagine, people have been using these stairs for over 600 years. The castle is inhabited from October to April and it really does feel lived in. There are books and magazines lying about, a modern telephone sits on a Victorian dresser, a canister holds a handful of ‘Bic’ pens. Yet, the ‘old’ atmosphere remains, preserved almost intact. There are signs which comment on each room and every now and then, the author has inserted a little bit of humour. The grounds are lovely; unfortunately the maze has been closed to the public because the public damaged it.
7:54
I suppose that my visit to Culloden would have been even more powerful had the rain been blowing in. However, the layout of the field was sufficient to get a taste of what happened. Cairns marked the location of each clan, of each leader, of the government troops, etc. I unfortunately did not have time to see the video presentation about the battle, but I did see a great 5-7 minute play about the surgeons and ‘baggage’ (the ladies allowed to go campaigning with their husbands. It’s no fun being baggage;I got a very minute taste of it when I visited Inverness castle yesterafternoon).
So tomorrow, the Orkneys.
I went to almost the other end of Inverness today in order to send e-mails. It cost me £3 for 37 min. It sounds like an okay deal. It was weird to type, but I realise that I’ve missed it. Typing is so much quicker and neater and more convenient!
Gotta be up at 6 tomorrow (!) so I’m off.