Final Trek to Edinburgh

That morning I had regrets about pressing Culloden on my family. How much would any battlefield mean to me that we were all going so far out of our way? But when I proposed we forget about it, my parents shushed me and insisted we go to Culloden. I love my parents.

I do not know why it is that Hollywood has not yet made a movie of the Jacobite Rebellion. As I understand it, King James left the throne amidst political turmoil, and it was snatched up by his sister. The word Jacobite itself stems from the name James, they were loyal to James, who they felt was the rightful king. They bought into that divine right of kings stuff. Alas, the Jacobite rebellion was crushed. But his son Charles, better known as the Bonnie Prince Charlie, felt it was his destiny to succeed where his father had failed, and regain the throne. He returned to Scotland and quickly gathered up Scottish support (though not as much as he’d hoped, still plenty). Each battle fought by the Jacobites, right up until Culloden, the Jacobites won. They were infamous for their brutal Jacobite Charge.

The Bonnie Prince Charlie, for all his support, was not great on the subject of military strategy. Culloden was meant to be the final battle, the battle to end all. He couldn’t help that the enemy outnumbered them almost 2:1, nor could he help that the British soldiers were better trained, better armed, and better fed. The Jacobites hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours when the battle occurred. But what Charlie could have considered was planning the battle on wide open boggy terrain, so the infamous Jacobite charge would be slowed to a fatal crawl, while the enemy had opportune time to make use of their far superior guns.

The Jacobites symbol was a white rose, something every soldier wore. Their enemy, led by the Duke of Cumberland, all wore Black Cockades (a black flower). One would think that only in Hollywood could come up with underdogs who engaged in a futile struggle against superior numbers, and forces better armed and better trained who all wore white while the enemy wore black. As I’ve already mentioned, the Jacobite forces were utterly crushed, but it doesn’t end there. It is estimated that as many died after the battle as during.

The battlefield of Culloden has such notable landmarks as a well where injured Jacobite men had gathered around for water, and the British soldiers slaughtered them like dogs when the Duke of Cumberland’s men got around to it. Women and children were mowed down. The Duke ordered enemy troops should receive no medical attention or mercy, and his orders were obeyed.

It was a very powerful battlefield, more museum than field really, but it brought me close to tears several times, just thinking about the merciless slaughter.

After that we made our way down to Loch Ness. I expected it to be outrageously touristy, and probably it would have gotten much worse if we had driven to other parts of the Loch, but of what we saw it wasn’t so bad. Just a nice, serene loch. We visited the beaches of the Loch Ness. Rocky as it was, we found a pretty tranquil spot. I washed my face in the Loch. The water was cold. Some think the Loch Ness monster was cold blooded. Coincidence?

We ate at a café along the loch. I once again made the mistake of ordering with cheese on it and expecting it to come with melted cheese. Once again the cheese was served grated and cold. But the coffee was really good (a rare find!) and my mother and I enjoyed two cups a piece instead of dessert. I made the right choice, as Scott’s cake turned out to be dry and devoid of flavor.

So it was that the VanBone family made a beeline for Edinburgh in the early afternoon. Highway driving the whole way with only one stop for gas.