Our Drive
Culloden Sign
Culloden Croft House
After breakfast in Aviemore, we said goodbye to Gail and Peter and headed north to the Culloden Battlefield. We arrived just in time for a 12pm tour, which was very informative and sobering.
Compass Rumoured to Have Been Used by Bonnie Prince Charles
We learned how 1350 soldiers died in 3 minutes. Staggering statistics. In fact, the whole battle was over in 30 minutes!
Prince Charles’ militia (The Scots) had hiked all night prior to the battle, thinking they would attack on the offense. However, the Brits were too busy partying and celebrating George’s birthday, so they never showed up at the projected spot.
Thus, the Brittish troops enjoyed a good night sleep and a full meal on account of the birthday. Conversely, after hiking all night with very little provisions and having never reached George’s camp, the Scots retreated to Culloden and collapsed.
Some had not eaten in 48 hours…when the Brits finally showed up ready to fight! The Brits, led by George, commanded the troops to kill all the retreating Scottish soldiers…Culloden was a key success for the Brits during the course of the war. But, at what a cost!
We had lunch in Cam-Allt, Strathcarron at Carron Restaurant. I had lentil soup and a cheese & pickle toastie (grilled cheese). In Scotland, there is a lovely pickle sauce, called Branston Small Chunk Pickle, which they put on their sandwiches. I made a mental note to bring some home! Dennis got a hamburger and was very pleased with the quality & taste.
We took the above after our stop for lunch; about 30 minutes from Carron Restaurant. The view of Lock Carron is amazing!
We arrived in Portree around 5pm and met Peter & Elaine Reseigh, owners of Meadowbank House. Peter gave us the tour and informed us of the rules. No showers after 10:30pm and no take away food to be eaten in the room. I guess some inconsiderate/sloppy guests spilled curry on the sheets once and left without doing the responsible thing…Seems these hosts were a little more strict than our last ones, but we figured it would be okay!
In pouring rain, we made the 10 minute walk to Portree. We were in search of dinner places with pasta. Since I would be doing a long run the next day, I needed to carb up! To our surprise, there were only two places in town serving pasta!
Hotel Portree was recommended by Elaine, so we ate there. I had a wonderful macaroni & cheese with boiled new potatoes while Dennis had a pizza. His pizza looked *wonderful*.
After dinner, we headed back to the room and got ready for the long run in the morning. I called Fiona and we arranged to meet at the Ferry Parking Lot at 9am. Woo-hoo, the run was ON!
Tags: Culloden, Highland Drive, Portree, Scotland