Woke again to a sunny morning........but we had been warned that rain would be moving in today, coming from the west. Just where we were headed! We had another very nice breakfast, but this time I backed away from the full breakfast with hagis and blood pudding! Time for a break! We also found the other Picasso in one of the public living rooms. The art here was such a great surprise!
We knew our drive to Inverness was over a particularly rugged part of the highlands. It turned out to be a great adventure. The road was seldom wide enough for two cars to pass! and the views were staggering. It was a very bold and barren countryside......sometimes we went for over 30 minutes without seeing a house or any sign of people. It was even more dramatic due to the weather starting to change with dramatic clouds moving in.
Haha, the stag turned away when we sat down for breakfast!
A few shots around the Fife Arms before leaving.
The courtyard we could see from our room.
Andrea was convinced we had taken a wrong turn......this did not look like the main road to Inverness!
CULLODEN
The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby ending the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Charles landed in Scotland in July 1745, seeking to restore his father James Francis Edward Stuart to the British throne. He quickly won control of large parts of Scotland, and an invasion of England reached as far as south as Derby before being forced to turn back. However, by April 1746, the Jacobites were short of supplies, facing a superior and better equipped opponent.
Charles and his senior officers decided their only option was to stand and fight. When the two armies met at Culloden, the battle lasted less than an hour, with the Jacobites suffering a bloody defeat. This ended both the 1745 rising, and Jacobitism as a significant element in British politics.
Painting below by David Morier depicting the 1746 Battle of Culloden. There was a great Visitor's Center that we spent over an hour going through a great series of animated exhibits. Then Lunch! It had started to rain, so we skipped the outdoor tour!
We drove through the rain and got to our hotel, the Kingsmills, just on the outskirts of Inverness around 2:00. Our room was not ready, so we went into the bar/lounge and had a cold drink and only had to wait about 20 minutes. The hotel turned out to be nice, but not our favorite. It is apparently known to tour groups and has a high volume of golfers coming and going. They were a little bit flustered today as the rain had started to be continuous and heavy......there were a lot of golf bags sitting in the lobby!
Our room was a bit dated......but very comfortable and large. Big windows that unfortunately looked out onto the roof over the dining room! We grabbed a few minutes of rest, which was cozy listening to the rain. Afterwards, I went down to the 'Activities' area, which included an indoor pool, a sauna and a steam room, and I tried all three!
Cocktails and dinner were fun and the food was good. The place was very busy!
NEW RULE OF TRAVEL........IT IS ALWAYS YOUR ANNIVERSARY!
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