Clan destined

9:21am Saturday 26th April 2008

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The Battle of Culloden, which ended the Jacobite rebellion against the English, has a legendary importance for anyone with Scottish ancestry.

John Hobbs attended the opening of a visitor centre which is destined to become a place of pilgrimage.

THEY came from many parts of the world, but mostly from the Highlands of Scotland. All to see how the last great battle to be fought on British soil has been translated into the age of high technology.

The event was the official opening of a £9m visitor centre on Drumossie Moor, near Inverness - scene of the Battle of Culloden, the bloody conflict which effectively ended the Jacobite rebellion against the English throne, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, in 1746.

The impact of the battle and its aftermath on the Highland way of life continues until today. For many families around the world with Scots ancestors, Culloden is a place of pilgrimage, holding great spiritual significance as a war grave.

So, it was very fitting that the new visitor centre, funded by both private and public money, should be declared open by two schoolboys who are direct descendents of men who fought in the conflict.

Six-year-old Philip Nichol and Scott Hay, 11, were winners of a family tree competition launched by the National Trust for Scotland, which has maintained the battlefield site since 1937.

Among the judges was historian Dr Nick Barratt, of the highly successful BBC1 TV series, Who Do You Think You Are?

He described his first view of the battlefield as "a sobering experience". But he added: "It is also an exhilarating landmark in history, one that has to be passed down through the generations.

"Above all, Culloden was not just a battle, but an invaluable piece of social history."

Before the official opening ceremony, a lone piper played laments beside the single stone cairn left standing on the battlefield. This lasted one hour - the exact time it took the Duke of Cumberland's better equipped troops to wipe out Bonnie Prince Charlie's army, The new centre incorporates a cinema capturing all the brutality of the battle, which resulted in the death of 2,000 Jacobite troops, compared to only 300 on the Hanoverian side, and a rooftop view of the battlefield.

The Gaelic language features strongly in the new centre, with Gaelic text and music being played as part of the exhibition, reflecting the large number of Gaelic speakers who fought on both the English and Scottish sides.

Tours of the actual battlefield can be accompanied by hand-held audio devices, using satellite technology to provide information at strategic points of the conflict.

"We are trying to portray to visitors the brutality of war through realistic and powerful film and the accounts of real people who lived at the time," says the project's co-ordinator, Alexander Bennett.

"There are still a lot of myths about Culloden, including that it was a battle between England and Scotland. We have tried to bring the whole story to life and demonstrate in a powerful way that, in fact, Scots fought on both sides of the battle, often against their will."

But firmly on the Jacobite side on that fateful day of April 16, 1746, were 400 Cameron highlanders. They and many others perished in the battle and its bloody aftermath. The present Sir Donald Cameron of Lochiel was at the opening of the new visitor centre to reflect on its impact on his ancestors.

"It's rather sad to see the reconstruction film of our clan being wiped out by the superior firepower of the Hanoverian army," he says. "It's a battle which should never have been fought where it was and when it was."

HIS views on the tragedy of the battle were echoed by the Earl of Cromarty, whose ancestor, the third earl, led 400 men of the MacKenzie Clan to their deaths during the Jacobite rebellion.

"I think of Culloden as a big graveyard, like a Shakespearan tragedy," says the present earl, who lives at Leod Castle, Strathpeffer. "The third earl only escaped after his wife pleaded for his life.

"The family then lived in exile in Devon until the title was restored to us in 1862."

Another woman to play a prominent part in the Jacobite cause was Lady Anne Mackintosh, who entertained Bonnie Prince Charlie to dinner at her home, Moy Hall, near Inverness, just two months before the Battle of Culloden.

In just 15 days, she raised an army of 600 men to support the Prince. After Culloden she was taken prisoner and held at Leith, but she was soon released. Lady Anne was painted wearing a brooch bearing a portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie, but covered by lace.

The new visitor centre does much to explain the part that Culloden played in Scotland's rich heritage.

"We felt it was important to take a fresh approach to telling the story of Culloden, placing it in context and explaining the effects the defeat of the Jacobites had on the course of history,"

says Shonaig Macpherson, chairman of the National Trust for Scotland.

"We also wanted to dispel any of the romantic ideals that often surround the battle and demonstrate just how brutal the conflict was.

"The Culloden project is an important milestone for the trust and is exactly the sort of work we, as a major heritage conservation and environment charity, can achieve for the nation."

TRAVELFACTS

John Hobbs was a guest of VisitScotland and stayed at the New Drumossie Hotel, Old Perth Road, Inverness.

The 4-star hotel, with 44 en-suite rooms and extensive conference facilities, is within easy reach of the new Culloden visitor centre and other major historic and tourist attractions in the Loch Ness and Inverness areas.

For booking details and tariffs visit www.drumossiehotel.co.uk or telephone 01463-236451 For full information about the new visitor centre at the Culloden Battlefield visit www.nts.org.uk/Culloden or telephone 084444-932159.

For further information about city breaks in Inverness or tourist attractions in the area log on to www.visitscotland.com/citybreaks