As the day continued we set off for St. Mary’s Clootie Well, near the Black Isle village of Munlochy. It has been a tradition for centuries to take a cloot – Scots for a rag or a piece of cloth – and tie it to a tree after dipping it in a “healing well”. My guide, John, had brought cloth for us to tie to the trees. It reminded me of the cloths tied to the fence around Wounded Knee. After the visit to the well we were off to the battlefield of Culloden, one of the most significant battle in Scottish history. This was a site I was keen to visit as it was the last full-scale battle to be fought on British soil and the culmination of the last Jacobite Rising. Lasting only about an hour, the battle, waged on April 16, 1746, saw 1500 Jacobites killed by the British that day. British losses are thought to have been around 50 men though some say it was probably as many as 300. Afterward the British banned the Highlanders from wearing their traditional kilt, and speaking their language. Again one is reminded how the U.S. government did much the same to the Native Americans. Joseph Yorke, a Lt. Colonel of the government’s 1st Regiment on Foot expressed the belief “You must never expect to see a total end to the rebellious spirit of this country till the Highlanders are unplanned, undressed, effectually disarmed and taught to speak English.”
What would a visit to the Highlands be without the hairy coos? These whimsical cows are captured in art and on souvenirs all over the Highlands.
From Culloden we went to the Clava Cairns. The Clava Cairns are about 4,000 years old and were built to house the dead. The cemetery remained a sacred place in the landscape for millennia, and provides many clues to the beliefs of Bronze Age society. The many trees now shading the ancient site were planted by the Victorians and give the place a special beauty and stillness.
John deposited me at my hotel around 5:30 and then at 7:30 I was sitting in the Eden Court theater watching a great play called “The Stamping Ground” which was a story woven around the songs of a well known Scottish band called Runrig. It was wonderful and so very Scottish! I now have even downloaded music by Runrig!