Inverness: Culloden Battlefield and City Walking Tour｜United Kingdom

The tour begins in Inverness with a short drive to Culloden, where your guide will explain who the Jacobites were, why they were occupying Inverness, and how they came to line up, tired and hungry, on a wet and windy heather-clad moor on April 16, 1746.

On arrival at Culloden Visitor Centre, we head to the viewpoint for an overview of the battlefield and the dispositions of the rival armies. We begin the walk at the Government Army front line, before retracing the steps of the Argyll Militia to the Culwhiniac enclosure and the scene of the Government outflanking manoeuvre.

From there, we walk to the Jacobite front line, and see how Lord George Murray’s ‘changement’ fundamentally destabilized the Highlander’s charge. View the scene of the stand-off between Cobham’s dragoons and Elcho’s lifeguards, and at the other extreme of the Jacobite line, the location of the legendary lone ‘French gun’, that allowed a large part of the Jacobite left wing to retreat unscathed.

Returning to the main battlefield area, we follow the line of the Highland charge and see how the topography shaped the direction, and outcome, of the legendary Highland charge. We finish at the high water mark of the battle, where the fiercest fighting took place and the dream of a Stuart restoration finally died alongside 1500 brave Highland soldiers.

After a morning at Culloden, we drive to Inverness to learn what happened after Culloden, and how in many ways the legacy continues to this day. Although most of the buildings in Inverness post-date the battle, the street layout is remarkably unchanged. We complete a pleasant stroll around the centre, stopping at sites known to have been visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Duke of Cumberland during their respective stays in the town.