Passing through Drumnadrochit and at the top of the hill we stop at Urquhart Castle which sits on a promontory overlooking the loch. Urquhart Castle was once one of Scotland’s largest castles and has been fought over many times with control of the castle passing back and forth between the Scots and the English during the wars of independence. It is near here that St Columba is purported to have seen the loch ness monster in 580 AD, the monster came out of the water to attack one of his disciples and St Columba banished it back to the water. The castle gatehouse was deliberately destroyed in 1692 so it could never be used again as a military stronghold.

After Urquhart Castle we come to Culloden Battlefield where on the 16th April 1746 the last battle on British soil took place. The battle was fought between the Jacobites who wanted to restore the Stuarts to the throne and the Hanoverians who were the government. In less than one hour more than 1600 men were killed, 1500 of them Jacobites. The battle lasted just over one hour. The result of this battle was to change the way of life in the highlands forever.

Less than a mile from the Battlefield we come to Clava Cairns, this ancient burial ground is more than 4000 years old. Diana Gabaldon is believed to have taken inspiration for her outlander series. The winter solstice was a very important time for these people and the cairns are aligned in a south westerly direction to face the midwinter sun.

After Clava we head to Cawdor Castle. Cawdor Castle has been home to the Thanes of Cawdor for centuries and is one of the few castles in the Highlands to be left unscathed after the Jacobite uprisings, this is very surprising considering it lies between Auldearn and Culloden where two battles took place. The castle is still lived in today by the Dowager Countess of Cawdor.

En revenant vers Inverness, nous nous arrêterons à la cathédrale d'Inverness. C'est la cathédrale anglicane la plus septentrionale du Royaume-Uni, achevée en 1866. En traversant Inverness, nous passerons devant l'ancienne église haute où les prisonniers jacobites furent détenus après Culloden avant d'être exécutés au cimetière. On peut encore voir des traces de balles de mousquet sur le mur de l'église, là où les exécutions ont eu lieu. En face de l'ancienne église haute, vous verrez l'hôpital Dunbar, construit avec des pierres provenant de la citadelle de Cromwell, provenant du prieuré de Beauly. Plus loin dans cette rue, nous passerons devant Abertarff House, la plus ancienne maison d'Inverness datant de 1593, qui abritait autrefois la maison de ville des chefs du clan Fraser. En continuant dans Inverness, nous passerons devant le château d'Inverness et admirerons la statue de Flora Macdonald, célèbre pour avoir aidé Bonnie Prince Charlie à s'échapper vers Skye après Culloden.