Balnuaran of Clava

The next day brought lots of clouds and rain.  We started out in Inverness.  There had been a zip-up jacket I had seen on our first outing that I hadn't bought and really wanted.  So, we found the store, I got the jacket, we did a little more shopping, and we stopped in for lunch at an "American" diner to celebrate 4th of July. 

The Scottish idea of a good ol' American burger was one that I consider a heart-attack waiting to happen, so I went with a chicken wrap instead.  In fact, not one in our little group was willing to give the heart-attack burger a try.  They had some purple coleslaw which came with my wrap that was heavenly, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like coleslaw. 

After lunch we were going to go to the Battlefield of Culloden, but one of the locals had mentioned some tombs near the battlefield.  We decided to check it out.  It wasn't tombs in what I had thought, but it was well worth the visit.

The local who told us about the tomb warned us not to climb on it--because many had been destroyed from people climbing on them.  There were also signs which asked us to be respectful, and yet, when we got there, there was a kid about eight or so who was climbing.  So irritating, the lack of respect, and the fact that the parents allowed it.  Grrr. 

While we were there, it started raining.

Here's a little history:

A prehistoric cemetery

On a gravel terrace above the River Nairn is one of Scotland’s most evocative sacred prehistoric sites. The Clava Cairns are dominated by a line of three exceptionally well-preserved burial cairns, each enclosed by stone circles. We know little about who the cairn builders were, for they left no written record. The actual remains of those buried within the cairns no longer survive because of overzealous archaeological digging in the early 20th century. However, recent excavations have shed new light on the cairns.

A regional tradition

The burial cairns at Clava are around 4,000 years old. They are not quite like those elsewhere in northern Britain. Other burial monuments generally incorporate massive standing stones – either in the facade as at Cairnholy in Galloway, or supporting the chamber as at Maeshowe in Orkney. In contrast, at Clava the circles of standing stones are separate elements from the tombs.

The three well-preserved cairns each have a central chamber. But while the two outer cairns have entrance passages, the chamber of the central one is completely enclosed. The outer kerb of each cairn is well defined by large boulders, and each is surrounded by a ring of standing stones.

Sun worshippers

The three cairns form a line running NE to SW. The passages of the two cairns are also similarly aligned, suggesting that the builders had their eyes on the midwinter sunset, just like their contemporaries who built Maeshowe. The standing stones around the cairns also acknowledge the midwinter sunset, for they are graded in height – the tallest facing the setting sun in the SW down to the lowest on the opposite side. Even the colour and texture of the stones seems to have been carefully selected to emphasise the veneration of the sunset on the shortest day of the year.

Tombs of the chiefs?

The burial chambers in each tomb were cleared out long ago. However, in the 1950s a few crumbs of cremated bone were found within the central cairn. Evidence from other similar ‘Clava-type’ cairns (such as Corrimony, inland from Urquhart Castle) suggests that while many hands were needed to create the tombs, only one or two bodies were buried inside them. They seem therefore to have been built to house the privileged few among the local farming community, perhaps tribal chiefs.

 From the limited evidence available, it seems that the Clava cairns were not burial places for communities, but for selected individuals, both male and female. Professor Alexander Thom discovered that the two entrance passages align exactly and that the alignment passes through two of the stones surrounding the central non-aligned cairn. The significance of this is that the passage graves were probably constructed in Neolithic times, and the stone circles later, during the Bronze Age. The alignment points to the midwinter sun's setting position, indicating that at some time the site perhaps had an astronomical function.
   
 Cairns like those at Clava are found mainly in the area around Inverness and the Black Isle, and the Spey Valley. Their distribution coincides largely with areas of good farmland, and often the smallest stones of the mounds have been almost totally removed for the construction of dykes and farm buildings.

Trying to protect my camera from the rain

Nikki liked the rain least of all, and took shelter under a tree

Brodie Castle

Our last stop of the day (before going out to dinner) was at Brodie Castle. 

Located near Forres in Moray, this grand castle was originally erected by Clan Brodie in 1567 and remained their ancestral seat until 1980 when the National Trust took over ownership. It underwent an extensive period of expansion and renovation during the 1830s and 40s which transformed this 16th century tower house in to the grand Scots Baronial-style mansion standing today.

Carefully restored by the National Trust, the castle’s rooms, passageway and towers are treasure troves of priceless antiques and unusual artifacts. Marvel at the magnificent vaulted guard house which retains the building’s original 16th century character, the splendid arched entrance hall and the library, the epitome of Victorian elegance.

Other highlights include the ornate plaster ceiling of the opulent drawing room and charming vintage toys in the in the day nursery. Light refreshment can be found in the tearoom on the ground floor of the 1800s wing with the Victorian kitchen just beyond it. A shop is located at the back of the castle and to the rear of the courtyard lies an octagonal dairy.

The 71 hectare estate boasts its own share of impressive features including dazzling displays of daffodils in springtime, an adventure playground, a natural trail with observation hides for watching wildlife, a walled garden and a Pictish monument  known as ‘Rodney’s Stone.’ The castle is also located near a small hill known locally as ‘Macbeth’s Hillock’ where the Shakespearean hero is said to have encountered the Weird Sisters.

A bunny!  I didn't have my camera ready, and by the time I got it on, the bunny was already pretty far

 For dinner, we stopped in at a restaurant on the shore of Loch Ness.  There was this neat plaque of fun facts about the loch. 

Kildrummy Castle

Kildrummy Castle was open later than some of the other castles, but we were still too late to take the tour.  Out of all the castles we missed, this was the one that I would most like to have been able to really explore.  The ruins were so awe-inspiring even from the distance. 

Kildrummy Castle was once one of the most magnificent and imposing castles in Scotland. It was built in about 1250 by the Earl of Mar. The castle was intended to consolidate the Mar dynasty's hold over north-eastern Scotland and was located where it could command important routes across the region. It may have replaced an earlier castle built on a motte a mile to the north east and since occupied by Kildrummy Kirkyard.


 Edward I paid at least two visits to Kildrummy Castle, in 1296 and 1303. Both times he came as a guest on his way south from Elgin, and he may even have lent his favourite mason to help design a better gatehouse for the castle. What emerged as a result was very like the gatehouse of Edward's castle at Harlech.

Kildrummy Castle's plan is best appreciated from the model in the visitor centre. It was built as a "D" shape, with its rear wall towering over a ravine. Circular towers were built at the two back corners, and on either arm of the D, leaving the gatehouse to guard the apex of the design. The main living quarters were originally in the Snow Tower, a highly sophisticated seven story tower copied from the very latest in French castle design at the time. There was also a Great Hall backing on to the rear wall of the castle, and a chapel on the east side.

By 1306 relations between Scotland and England had changed.  Robert the Bruce had declared himself King of Scotland, and Edward I had dispatched an army to quell the Scots under his son Edward, Prince of Wales. Kildrummy Castle was held for Robert by his brother Sir Neil Bruce against an extended siege by the Prince of Wales' forces. This came to an end when Osbourne, the castle blacksmith, betrayed Bruce and set fire to the castle. The defenders, including Neil Bruce, were hanged. Osbourne was paid handsomely in gold: poured, it is said, molten down his throat.

Me, Nikki, Alex, and Jamie

Following repairs, the castle was again besieged in 1335 by supporters of the English. Its defence was commanded by Lady Christian Bruce, sister of Robert the Bruce.  It successfully held out until relieved by Lady Christian's husband, Sir Andrew Murray.  In 1357 it was once more attacked, this time successfully, by King David II to defeat the disloyal Earl of Mar. In 1435 the castle and estates were annexed by King James I in his efforts to control the power of the barons, and over the following decades the castle was strengthened and improved. 

The estate passed to the Elphinstone family in 1507, who added a tower house to the castle, now known as the Elphinstone Tower. The castle was occupied by Jacobites during the 1689 uprising, and damaged by them as they left. It had been repaired enough to serve as the base for the 23rd Earl of Mar when he launched the 1715 Jacobite rebellion. Defeated, Mar accompanied the Pretender to France, and Kildrummy played no further part in Scottish history.
The next two centuries were largely a period of decline for Kildrummy. The exceptionally high quality of its stone led to its use as a handy quarry for the area, and the mighty Snow Tower collapsed in 1805. However, in 1898 the castle was acquired by Colonel James Ogston, who until his death worked steadily to restore parts of it. Kildrummy Castle was placed in the care of the State in 1951, and is now looked after by Historic Scotland.