Culloden Battlefield but the Heilan Coo’s won the show! 17th Dec 2019

It’s been a bit of de ja vu at Braehead Guest House. In 2015 we were in room 3, now we are in room 4. We came down to breakfast and the dining room (although repainted and new carpet) was just the same as before - with the addition of a Christmas tree. Our host Moira cooked a delicious breakfast which I shared with Archie, her gorgeous Golden Retriever who was my comfort and friend in 2015.

The roads were not as bad as yesterday so we decided to make the short 5 mile journey out to Culloden. However, the paths and car park were literally like and ice-skating rink, I almost fell! On arrival we saw two Heilan Coo’s in a field and despite a wire fence separating us I was able to get a lot closer than the ones from yesterday. They are truly gorgeous.

With their fluffy coat, sweeping hornes and shaggy fringes the Highland Cow (Heilan Coo in Scots and Bo Ghadhealach in Gaelic) is an iconic symbol of Scotland. But I recently discovered some interesting facts….apart from being ridiculously cute and gorgeous with their shaggy ginger-nut ranger coat, just-out-of-bed hair, long curving horns and highly photogenic teddy-bear appearance, it turns out these features are not just aesthetic. The thick wooly undercoat keeps them warm whilst the longer guard hairs shed snow and rain. The long eyelashes and thick fringe protects their eyes from stinging hail, lashing rain, biting winds and insects. The horns rake away snow so they can get food in the harshest conditions. The fact that these practical aspects also make them incredibly cute is just fringe benefit - pardon the pun (hehe).

They are the oldest registered breed of cattle in the world first mentioned in the 6th century, and being the first herd (called a fold) registered a year after the Highland Cattle Society was formed in 1884. They have remained unchanged ever since. Patron of the society, Queen Elizabeth II, has her own award winning heard at Balmoral founded in her coronation year of 1953 and her fold is considered one of the world’s best.

Their meat is of exceptional high quality with 40% less fat and cholesterol, it's apparently succulent and tender but the less said about that the better - don’t want to make them skittish!

They do come in different colours, although usually ginger they can be red, yellow, brindle, dun, silver or black. The males have shorter, thicker horns curving forward with little upwards rise near the tip, whilst the female’s horns are longer, more slender and curve upwards.

As cattle go they are relatively light (Bull 800kg and Cow 500kg) and are light footed so are good conservation grazers on rough ground making it better for other species such as sheep. They trample areas of bracken allowing flowers to flourish and their dung makes great fertiliser. They pull up grass and plants with their tongue rather than trimming it with their teeth like sheep. They spread wildflower seeds that attach to their coats.

They have a friendly temperament and often approach people for attention. Despite their somewhat fearsome horns they rarely fight, having a good social order and understanding of their place within it. They can be protective of calves and are sometimes afraid of dogs so take care if you have a dog with you. They are excellent mothers, breeding beyond the age of 18 years and raising 15 or more calves in a lifetime. Pretty impressive!!!

But back to Culloden, we met James, who gave us some information on the history of our family names, and suffice to say neither of us is related to Royalty, although Vince did try to make a connection in the hope of a claim on one of the many Scottish Castles - but alas it was not to be. We could have taken some printed scrolls but at 25 pounds each and being already at maximum luggage weight, we politely declined.

We browsed the gift shop and had an early lunch of a sausage roll for Vince and a steak pie of me as we waited for the 1.00pm free tour. Our National Trust 3 day pass got us free admission and it was James who ran the tour which was both informative and entertaining. Turns out that history can be fun after all. The Visitor centre is state of the art with both static and interactive displays and of particular interest to me was the death mask of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Vince enjoyed playing with the guns. We braved the cold and ice to walk the battle field and Vince took the second YaYa Vlog on location at Culloden.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/7a4f65_33dae0e1f56d4ea497e881232e5f93af/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

The Battle of Culloden (Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite (King James supporters) rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) were defeated by Hanoverian government forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Culloden Moore near Inverness. It was really a battle between the two for their father’s right to the crown.

Queen Anne was the last monarch of the House of Stuart and died in 1714, with no living children. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701 her second cousin George I of the House of Hanover (german) succeeded her being a descendant of the Stuarts through his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth (daughter of James VI and I).

Raising an army consisting mostly of Scottish clansmen along with smaller units of Irish and Englishmen (Manchester Regiment) Charles’ previous battles had been successful in Scotland then pushing forwards into England and at one point being a real threat to London and the crown. However, planted incorrect information about 3 armies ready to attack forced the war council to decide to return to Scotland against Charles’ wishes. Ironically 2 of the armies were too far north to reach them in time and the 3rd between them and London never existed, so it could have been a very different world had they pushed on.

They were soon pursued by an army raised by the Duke of Cumberland and the two forces eventually met at Culloden, on terrain that made the famous Highland Charge difficult and gave the larger and well-armed British forces the advantage. The battle lasted only an hour, with the majority of the Jacobites killed in only a few minutes. Figures differ but around 1500 of the 5000 Jacobites died and around 50 of the government soldiers with many more injured.

The Hanoverian victory at Culloden put an end to the Jacobite intent to overthrow the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the British throne and Charles Stuart never again tried to challenge it. He fled to the highlands - including the Isle of Skye and escaped to France.

The battle and its aftermath continue to arouse strong feelings and orders were for all who crossed the path of the government were to be killed, this included women and children. Cumberland was called the "Butcher". In efforts to further integrate the comparatively wild Scottish Highlands into the Kingdom of Great Britain civil penalties were introduced to weaken Gaelic culture such as the banning of the tartan and kilt, and undermine the Scottish clan system with the Highland Clearances.

Back in Inverness we took a stroll to the shops and I was spoilt by Vince who bought me a replica of Claire’s wedding ring from “Outlander” (45 pounds) for the “Handfasting” component in our Scottish Wedding (1.1.2020) and I will then wear it on my right hand. Very romantic - I’m so lucky to have a husband like him.

We had a cheap and cheerful dinner at the Castle Hotel of chicken curry for 10 pounds each. Then it was back to Breahead House for a shower and bed. As it gets dark between 3.30pm and 4.00pm we have been finding ourselves in bed asleep between 6.00 and 7.00pm. As a consequence I am awake around 2.00 - 3.00am. Given that the sun doesn't come up until between 8.30 - 9.00am - we REALLY need to try to stay up later I think!!!!