Photos and the City

Tag: UK

Clava Cairns

Only a mile far from Culloden lies another link with Scotlands past, dating back to around 2000BC. A short drive along some minor roads will take you away from the busy visitor centre of Culloden to the very quiet and impressive Prehistoric Burial Cairns of Balnuaran of Clava, shortly called Clava Cairns, set on a terrace above the River Nairn.

Clava Cairns is a group of three Bronze Age cairns dating back around 4000 years.

The cemetery was used in two periods. At around 2000 BC a row of large cairns was built, three of which can still be seen today. A thousand years later the cemetery was reused and new burials were placed in some of the existing cairns and three smaller monuments were built including a ‘kerb cairn’. Traces of a smaller cemetery can also be seen at Milton of Clava, a short distance up the valley to the west. The cairns at Balnuaran of Clava extended along a gravel terrace raised above the River Nairn. (Visit Scotland)

The land was used for farming before the cairns were built and the stones were probably taken from demolished houses.

There are two different types of cairns and you can see both at Clava Cairns:

The North East and South West Cairns are knows as passage graves. Here the inner chamber remains linked to the outside world by a passage. Both are no more than a metre or so in height, but when originally constructed the cairns are likely to have been around 3m or 10ft in height. (Undiscovered Scotland)

Both of the passage cairns have a surrounding circle of widely spaced standing stones.

The central cairn is a ring cairn and has so connecting passageway linking the central chamber with the outside. And again it is surrounded by a ring of standing stones.

The Clava Cairns are a type-site for a group of around 50 similar cairns found only in the region of the Moray Firth and Inverness. The form of these burial monuments uniquely combines aspects of ring cairns, passage graves, and stone circles. (Historic Enviroment of Scotland)

Midwinter seemed to be an important turning point of time of the year for the Bronze Age society, the three cairns form a line running north-east to the south-west. The passageways are also aligned towards the south-west looking towards the winter sunset.

It is assumed that Clava Cairns inspired the fictitious Craigh na Dun standing stones, which send the main character of the books and tv show “Outlander”, Claire, back in time.

I met actress Mikaila at this magical place for some “Highlander” inspired pictures showing off her and her Scottish roots.

We continued in the surrounding areas and enjoyed some fabulous views.

25/02/2020
Culloden

A battlefield near the village Culloden, the powerfully moving site of the final Jacobite Rising, the last battle to be fought on British land. It was the end of the Scottish Highland clan culture and the end of an era for Scotland.

On 16 April 1746, the final Jacobite Rising came to a brutal head. Jacobite supporters, seeking to restore the Stuart monarchy to the British thrones, gathered to fight the Duke of Cumberland’s government troops. It was the last pitched battle on British soil and, in less than an hour, around 1,500 men were slain – more than 1,000 of them Jacobites. (Visit Scotland)

The Battle of Culloden was fought on Drumossie Moor, to the northeast of Inverness, it was the last of the great Jacobite risings, attempts to reinstate a Stuart monarch on the throne of Britain and was led by Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender.

The Jacobites

The term Jacobites derives from the Latin “Jacobe” which means James, a very popular Christian name in the Stuart family. Bonnie Prince Charlie was the son of the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, and grandson of the deposed James II of England. He landed in Scotland in July 1745 in an attempt to throw King George II from the throne. The Hanoverian line became the kings of Britain when in 1603 when King James VI of Scotland had travelled south to become King James I of England and Ireland.

Charles sought and raised support for his cause amongst the Highland clans and most of them supported him. Just a few were loyal to the Hanoveranians, while most of the lowland Scotland opposed the Jacobites movement.

Charles and his gathering army reached Perth on September 4, 1745, where the Young Pretender proclaimed his father, the Old Pretender, to be the rightful King. He took Edinburgh on September 17 and won a decisive victory at Prestonpans on September 21. Carlisle fell on November 15 after a short, five-day siege, and the Jacobites marched on toward London through Lancaster, Preston and Manchester. The army reached Derby on December 4, but turned back to Scotland two days later on the advice of Lord George Murray and several of the Highland Chiefs when it became clear that the much-promised support of the French and the English Jacobites wasn’t forthcoming. It was this retreat, against the wishes of Charles himself, which many historians believe to have been the fatal move which defeated the ’45 rising. (BBC History)

The Jacobites retreated to the Highlands but still had a few victories against the British. The British army trained and exercised in Aberdeen. Charles tried to avoid direct contact with the British army and used guerrilla tactics which were so effective in Highland warfare. But the funds of the Jacobites were running low and something had to happen.

The Battle of Culloden

On the night of April 15-16, Charles tried to a surprise attack on the Hanoverian camp near Nairn, but the plan failed and the Jacobite had to retreat to Culloden, a marshland. When the British army advanced into the field on the next day they outnumbered the Jacobites by 9000 to 6000 and the Jacobites were exhausted from the nightly raid.

The marshland wasn´t in favour of the tactics of the Highlanders but it suited the heavy artillery and cavalry of the British. The Jacobite army was defeated into retreat and the ones still alive fled towards Inverness or the mountains. The British army hunted many of them down and killed them.

Culloden Today

Today the Culloden Visitor Center of the National Trust of Scotland stands beside the battlefield, features artefacts from both sides of the battle and tells the story of the Jacobites.

It is an airy walk through the fields, which are marshland again. Even so, there were many visitors it felt quiet. Gravestones mark the graves of hundreds of clansmen and also British soldiers that were killed on that day.

Leanach Cottage

Originally built in the 18th century the traditional thatched cottage has seen many changes since then. Lived in until 1912 it felt into disrepair afterwards.

The cottage was later restored and served as the first visitor centre for people coming to see Culloden Battlefield. Now the cottage is a temporary exhibition space for you to discover more about Culloden’s heritage. (National Trust for Scotland)

20/02/2020
Elgin Cathedral

Even as ruin the Cathedral of Elgin is one impressive sight, no wonder it is called the “Lantern of the North”. The Cathedral is said to be one of Scotland´s most ambitious and beautiful medieval buildings.

Established in 1224 just outside the burgh of Elgin and next to the River Lossie, Elgin Cathedral replaced the Cathedral at Spydie about 2miles north.

The monumentally impressive building dominated the flat and fertile Laich of Moray from the time it was built. It continued to do so even after its demise at the Protestant Reformation of 1560.

Work began on the cathedral in the first half of the 1200s, but it is the product of three main building phases. Even as a ruin, the cathedral still boasts plenty of detail that tells of its development and embellishment. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

After a damaging fire in 1270, the new building became way bigger than the first church but suffered again after another fire in 1390 following an attack of Alexander Stewart also known as the Wolf of Badenoch.

The destruction was followed by a programme of repair and reconstruction that lasted intermittently through the following two hundred years. Further work was needed following the collapse of the central tower in 1506, and the west front and chapter house received facelifts at around the same time. (Undiscovered Scotland)

View from the tower

Elgin Cathedral finally fell victim to the Reformation of 1560 when the parish of St. Gilles in Elgin became the new main church.

But the greatest single disaster was the collapse of the central tower in 1711, taking with it the greater portion of the nave. The only part of the structure kept in reasonable order from that time was the chapter house, which was used as a meeting room for the Elgin tradesfolk. (Undiscovered Scotland)

Conserving Elgin Cathedral

It was not until the early 1800s that any effort was made to halt further decay. In 1807, John Shanks, a drouthy cobbler was appointed keeper of the cathedral and his single-handed efforts to clear the collapsed masonry led to the preparation of a report seeking to highlight the steps required to stabilise the ruin and improve the cathedral grounds. The resulting project was a joint venture between the Office of Works and the Burgh Council. Shanks’ personal reward was an increase in salary. (Undiscovered Scotland)

During the 1930ies further maintenance work followed including a new roof to protect the vaulted ceiling of the south choir aisle. From 1960 on new windows were fitted in the chapterhouse and sandstone replaced. In the late 20ies century, the two towers were overhauled and a viewing platform installed.

Today one of the two towers houses a stone exhibition. But also on the ground, there is lots to see and explore.

Pictish cross-slab

Elgin is one of the bigger towns in the area, it is the commercial and administrative centre for Moray.

11/02/2020