September 26, 2024

The next part of our tour took us to the ruins of Urquart Castle, one of Scotland’s most popular attractions. The castle ruins sit on the edge of Loch Ness and date from the  13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an earlier medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the series of military campaigns fought between the kingdoms of Scotland and England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces and subsequently decayed. The walled portion of the castle is shaped roughly like a figure-8 along the bank of the loch, forming two enclosures or bailies: the Nether Bailey to the north, and the Upper Bailey to the south. The curtain walls of both enclosures date largely to the 14th century. The northern bailey is where most of the remaining structures are located I was particularly interested in the old model of a trebuchet on the grounds. The trebuchet is a type of catapult that uses a rotating arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful and common siege engine that was probably used against the castle. From the shore line of the castle, we took a ferry the length of Loch Ness. Although I spent my time scanning the water for Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, I didn’t get a glimpse of her. The idea is that Nessie is actually a large sea snake and not a modern day plesiosaur. First of all, plesiosaur were not fresh water creatures and second, a lot of snake DNA has been gathered from Loch Ness. After debarking from the ferry, we got back on the bus for our trip to Culloden Moor. The story of Culloden is well-known: the site of the last battle of the Jacobite uprising in 1746, more than one thousand Highlanders lost their lives in the span of one hour. In retribution for the uprising, King George II had most of the clans slaughtered and their homes destroyed. This marked the end of the clan system in Scotland. Culloden itself is just a large field where the lines of the Highlanders and the English are marked by red and blue flags. It is somber and peaceful. We enjoyed the museum and the demonstration by one of the guides of what each side wore for uniforms, the weapons used, and the type of fighting. The next day took us to Dunrobin Castle, a breathtaking mid-19th-century edifice that began as a tower keep in the 14th century. The architect of the Houses of Parliament in London did the remodeling, along with gardens designed in the fashion of Versailles. The Castle, which resembles a French château with its towering conical spires sits on the east coast of the Northern Highlands overlooking the Moray Firth. A special treat was a demonstration of falconry by the in-house falconer. Several different types of falcons, an owl and a golden eagle were on display on their perches and he showed us the hunting skills of a Harris hawk and the peregrine falcon and how he works with them when he goes hunting. In the afternoon, we made a stop that had Hubs grinning from ear to ear – the Glenmorangie whisky distillery. We listened to the guide describe how the whisky was created and distilled and then had a whisky tasting to round up the tour. The company has half a million barrels of whisky aging on site. One thing we noticed is that all the trees around the distillery were black. This is a result of the distillate that escapes during the process, called the Angel’s Share. 0 0