Urquhart Castle, Divach Falls and Culloden

A Visit to Scotland is always worth a good look around and we crammed in a good   day visiting various places, with Urquhart Castle our first stop of.
It is not really known when the castle was built but it was inhabited in 1296 and destroyed in the 1500`s to prevent it from falling into Jacobite hands but it did used to be a true Scottish stronghold, though now sadly in ruins and over time its walls have been plundered and used for local buildings but it now belongs to the National Trust  Scotland.

 Situated on the banks of Loch Ness and 2 miles from Drumnadrochit it is one of the most photographed ruins of Scotland. 

 One of the oldest weapons still stand as a monument now, but was once a force to reckoned with.

 The old jail still has a prisoner!

 The lovely Scottish piper who proved extremely popular this day with photographs with all the visitors - including me!

 Even inside the castle House Martins nest wherever there is warmth.

 Modern day graffiti, the earliest seen is 1871 by J Dewar who also appears to have returned in 1888! 

The views as usual are always stunning, even through the old windows.
Our next stop of point was Divach Falls, which is also one of the most painted and photographed waterfalls, though with not much rain falling (yes it is Scotland and has not had much rain!) it is a gentle cascading river rather than a torrent.
To get there though you have a gentle woodland walk before seeing it....

 

The view of Loch Ness from the car park of Divach Falls.
We made our way from the Divach Falls to the Culloden Viaduct.

Built in the late 19th century, it represents the age of steam trains.
Not far from here are the old burial grounds, huge for the days they were built and would have whole families buried in them...

 


Even the old mushrooms enjoy this environment.......






Our final destination was the site of Battle Of Culloden.
One of the final sites of the battle between the Jacobite uprising against the English in 1746 and although one of the quickest it was sadly one of the bloodiest with around 1500 and 2000 Scots killed and not many government forces suffering losses. This was the last battle on The U.K Mainland......
Today, flags mark the fields of government and Jacobite troops and mass grave stones mark the clans that fell for the cause and the pavement lines the names of many that help support the visitor centre and keep the memories of those who fought and died here......

 

 The names on the ceiling of the visitor centre are those that help support the site and there are thousands of names...

 

Names that line the footpath to the visitor centre.
We had a great day and the visit was welcome and worth the money.
So Visit Scotland, it is a world where dreams, stories and Myths are made of Legends..............