Visiting the Scottish Highlands - Culloden and Clava Cairns - with Haggis Adventures in Scotland
On our first day of touring with Haggis Adventures we explored the Scottish Highlands including stops at the visitor center of the Battle of Culloden Moor and the mysterious Clava Cairn.
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Battlefield of Culloden Moor
Standing on Culloden Moor I saw nothing but blue skies, white clouds and grassy fields dotted with several trees. Upon first examination this seemed as quiet, remote and peaceful of a place you could ever visit; however, the truth is that Culloden Moor was the tragic battlefield grounds and final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising.
Dave, our gregarious guide from Haggis Adventures, clad in a kilt and wielding historical artifacts associated with the conflict (various weapons and flags) informed us of the significance of this now memorial site: No jokes, no humor at all. This is a massive war grave where my ancestors and other people's ancestors died needlessly. Just who the utmost respect guys.
Not far from our initial starting point stood a 6.1 meter memorial cairn with the following inscribed:
THE BATTLE
OF CULLODEN
WAS FOUGHT ON THIS MOOR
16TH APRIL 1746
THE GRAVES OF THE
GALLANT HIGHLANDERS
WHO FOUGHT FOR
SCOTLAND & PRINCE CHARLIE,
ARE MARKED BY THE NAMES
OF THEIR CLAN
Dave continued explaining the significance of Culloden to the Scots and especially the Jacobite highlanders: People come now to sing songs, tell stories and to remember on the 16th of April. A blind piper plays. He plays songs on the bagpipes for 45 minutes, which is the length that the battle lasted for. It tugs on your heartstrings.
The Battle of Culloden, which took place on April 16, 1746 near Iverness in the Scottish Highlands, was the final confrontation of the 1945 Jacobite Rising. Jacobite forces under Bonnie Prince Charlie fought passionately against loyalist soldiers under the leadership of William Augustus - better know as the Duke of Cumberland. This bloody and ultimately quick conflict lasted less than an hour in which an estimated 1,500 to 2000 Jacobites were killed/wounded as opposed to significantly less casualties from the redcoats. The aftermath of the battle was a time of oppression for Jacobites who were brutally marginalized earning the Duke of Cumberland the title of 'Butcher.' Policing and civil penalties were implemented with the intention of weakening the Scottish clan system and Gaelic culture.
Most tragic is the grave post of the 'Mixed Clans' - members who were so brutally disfigured in the battle that their remains were unidentifiable. Their family name and clan ties forever wiped out from history.
However, the spirit, passion, courage and morale of the Jacobite Highland forces remains in tales told today: Lord George Murray was a Jacobite General. He led a charge into the front-line of the British government army. Snapped his sword in two, lost his horse and came back out of the front line; he got another sword, got another horse and led a second charge in.
This battlefield is protected by Historic Scotland where a visitor center has been functional since December, 2007. On the anniversary of the battle people come to pay their respects.
Dave, accurately summed up the realities of war and conflict: One thing that is guaranteed in war is death. Death and destruction.
As someone with a certain amount of Scottish ancestry, I couldn't help put wonder how many of my relatives may have lost their lives on this very moor. Standing quietly on the field, I stopped to pay my respect with a minute of silence.
Balnuaran of Clava (Clava Cairn)
Overall, our first day visiting the highlands was an eye opening experience not only because of the stunning Highlands scenery but moreover because of the historical significance of the areas we visited:
This is part of our Travel in Scotland series.
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Clava Cairns - Scottish Highlands, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Created at TripWow by TravelPod Attractions (a TripAdvisor™ company)
Clava Cairns Scottish Highlands
Mysterious ancient ruins and burial chambers similar to Stonehenge.
Read more at:
Travel blogs from Clava Cairns:
- ... from there we went to clava cairns, which, from what i understand, is a prehistoric tomb site ...
- ... We will visit Dingwall and Inverness; Culloden Battlefield; the Clava Cairns, 3 Bronze Age cairns ; Fort George; Castle Stuart and Dalcross Castle ...
- ... La mattina seguente breve tappa alle tombe preistoriche di Clava Cairns, tre tumuli di pietra con camera circolare al centro, si trovano in un boschetto poco fuori città ...
- ... Drove on a few miles further to Clava Cairns ...
Read these blogs and more at:
Photos from:
- Inverness, Scottish Highlands, Scotland, United Kingdom
Photos in this video:
- Clava Cairns mini stonehenge by Campbells from a blog titled Beautiful Scotland!
- Clava Cairns, near Inverness by Tyga from a blog titled Walking Tour of Inverness and Culloden
- Clava Cairns by Avirili from a blog titled Inverness e le tombe preistoriche
Clava Cairns, Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
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CLAVA CAIRNS
INVERNESS
INVERNESS-SHIRE
SCOTLAND
BALNUARAN OF CLAVA IS ONE OF THE BEST PREHISTORIC SITES IN SCOTLAND. SITUATED SIX MILES EAST OF INVERNESS AND 275M EAST OF CULLODEN BATTLEFIELD. THE CAIRNS ARE IN THE CARE OF HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND AND SIGNPOSTED FROM THE B9091 ROAD.
SITUATED ON A TERRACE SURROUNDED BY TREES, THE CAIRNS WERE BUILT IN THE BRONZE AGE (2000BC). THE SITE GIVE US A FASCINATING LOOK BACK INTO DEEP ANTIQUITY. BY STUDYING THE CAIRNS WE CAN UNDERSTAND SOME OF OUR ANCESTORS THINKING.
ROUGHLY FIFTY CLAVA CAIRNS ARE IN THE MORAY FIRTH AREA. THESE STRUCTURES WERE PLACED VERY CAREFULLY AND ARE TESTAMENT TO THE MULTI-SKILLS OF OUR ANCESTORS.
BALNUARAN HAS FOUR CONSTRUCTIONS. THE NORTH EAST PASSAGE GRAVE, THE CENTRAL RING CAIRN, A SMALL KERB CAIRN AND A SOUTH WEST PASSAGE GRAVE. THE THREE LARGE SITES ARE WELL PRESERVED AND ARE SURROUNDED BY STANDING STONES.
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, SOME OF THE STONES HAVE CUP MARKS. THESE STONES MAY HAVE ORIGINALLY BEEN PART OF AN EARLIER SITE THEN RE-USED. IT IS THOUGHT THE CAIRNS WERE CONSTRUCTED AS TOMBS FOR THE DEAD.
THE CAIRNS FEATURE IN GARY BILTCLIFF & CAROLINE HOARS, BOOK ‘THE SPINE OF ALBION’. THE BOOK FOLLOWS AN ALIGNMENT FROM SOUTH ENGLAND TO NORTH SCOTLAND. THE ALIGNMENT IS INTERTWINED BY MALE & FEMALE DRAGON LINES. THE MALE CURRENT GOES THROUGH THE THREE CAIRNS AND IS MET BY THE FEMALE CURRENT IN THE NE CAIRN.
ORIGINALLY THE NE CAIRN PASSAGE WAS ROOFED BY LINTELS. THE PASSAGE WAS LOW, AN ADULT WOULD HAVE TO CROUCH TO ENTER. THE PASSAGE IS ALIGNED, TOWARDS WINTER SOLSTICE SUNSET, THE DARKEST DAY OF THE YEAR. RAYS OF THE DYING SUN, ILLUMINATED THE BACK OF THE WOMB TOMB.
THE MALE AND FEMALE DRAGON CURRENTS CROSS INSIDE THIS CHAMBER. PERHAPS AN ANCIENT SHAMAN COULD CONNECT WITH OTHER LEVELS OF REALITY AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE ANCESTORS. WAS THIS THE TRUE FUNCTION OF THE SITE?
AFTER A SHORT PERIOD OF STAGNATION, THE CAIRN WAS BLOCKED UP AND A CIRCLE OF STANDING STONES WERE ADDED. THESE MONOLITHS ARE GRADED IN HEIGHT WITH THE HIGHEST AT THE SW ENTRANCE. A NORTH ARC RED SANDSTONE ON THE OUTER KERB HAS CUP MARKS.
THE MIDDLE CAIRN IS UNUSUAL AS IT HAS NO PASSAGE. THE FIRST PHASE WAS A WALL OF RUBBLE, A KERB SUPPORTED THE WALL ON BOTH SIDES. THE CAIRN HAD AN OPEN CIRCULAR CENTRAL SPACE. THE TWO KERBS WERE GRADED IN HEIGHT, THE HIGHEST KERB FACED SOUTH WEST, THE SMALLEST STONES ARE TOWARDS NORTH EAST.
HUMAN BONES AND EVIDENCE OF BURNING WERE FOUND DURING EXCAVATION. THE CAIRN STONES WERE NEVER HIGH OFF THE GROUND, THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A PLATFORM. WHEN THE SITES USE CAME TO AN END, THE CENTRAL SECTION WAS FILLED IN. A STONE CIRCLE WAS ERECTED WHICH IS ALSO GRADED IN HEIGHT.
THE SMALLEST AND YOUNGEST OF THE FOUR RINGS. COMPARED WITH SIMILAR SITES, THE KERB CAIRN IS THOUGHT TO BE 3000 YEARS OLD, MAKING IT 1000 YEARS AFTER THE BIG CAIRNS. DURING THIS TIME, THE SITES WERE HAVING A SECOND PHASE OF USE.
A 1950’S EXCAVATION FOUND PEBBLES OF WHITE QUARTZ AND PIECES OF FLINT. THIS 4M X 4M RING MIRRORS FEATURES FROM THE OTHER SITES. THE STONES ARE HIGH AT THE SW, DECREASING TO THE NE. THE BOULDERS ALTERNATE IN PINK, WHITE AND RED. A RED SANDSTONE IS COVERED IN CUP MARKS, ONE CUP IS SURROUNDED BY A RING.
THE SW CAIRN IS A NEAR MIRROR IMAGE OF THE NE SITE. AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE SUNSET, THE RAYS OF THE DYING MALE SOLAR DISK, PENETRATE THE FEMALE WOMB TOMB. THE CHAMBER IS A MIXTURE OF RED SANDSTONE, WHITE MICA & QUARTZ. THE SUN SETS ON THE VALLEY SIDE.
THE SITE WAS ONLY USED FOR A SHORT TIME, THEN INTENTIONALLY CLOSED. A STONY BANK WAS ADDED WITH A RING OF TEN RED SANDSTONE MEGALITHS. THERE PROBABLY WAS ORIGINALLY TWELVE. ONE OF THE MONOLITHS HAS CUP MARKS.
AN EXCAVATION TOOK PLACE IN 1828, NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THE HUMAN REMAINS FOUND. THE SITE HAD A SECOND LEASE OF LIFE, FOR A NUMBER OF CREMATION BURIALS AROUND 3000 YEARS AGO. A MODERN ROAD SEPARATES THE SOUTH ARC OF STANDING STONES FROM THE CAIRN.
SOME OF THE STONES IN THE CENTRAL CHAMBER HAVE CUP MARKS AND CUP & RING GLYPHS. AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PASSAGE IS A TALL SLAB WITH CUP AND RING MARK CARVINGS AND CUPS. THE MEANING OF THESE PETROGLYPHS ARE LONG LOST TO US.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS
Clava Cairns
The Clava cairn is a type of Bronze Age circular chamber tomb cairn, named after the group of 3 cairns at Balnuaran of Clava, to the east of Inverness in Scotland. There are about 50 cairns of this type in an area round about Inverness. They fall into two sub-types, one typically consisting of a corbelled passage grave with a single burial chamber linked to the entrance by a short passage and covered with a cairn of stones, with the entrances oriented south west towards midwinter sunset. In the other sub-type an annular ring cairn encloses an apparently unroofed area with no formal means of access from the outside. In both sub-types a stone circle surrounds the whole tomb and a kerb often runs around the cairn. The heights of the standing stones vary in height so that the tallest fringe the entrance (oriented south west) and the shortest are directly opposite it.
Where Clava-type tombs have still contained burial remains, only one or two bodies appear to have been buried in each, and the lack of access to the second sub-type suggests that there was no intention of re-visiting the dead or communally adding future burials as had been the case with Neolithic cairn tombs.
Scotland - Clava Cairns and Culloden
Day two of our short trip around Scotland.
Clava Cairns, Culloden, Inverness
DJI Phantom and GoPro Hero flight over Clava Cairns on a very windy and dark afternoon.
Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns
Owing to the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden I decided to take a ride out to the famous ground and go for a wander. Join me for a brief recount of the event (I am no historian).
I then go on to Clava Cairns which gave the idea for the standing stones featured in the Amazon series Outlander.
Clava Cairns ‘Craigh na Dun’ / Inverness, Scotland, inspiration for Outlander TV Series
In the first series of Outlander, Claire Randall, on her honeymoon with her husband in Scotland after World War II, visits Craigh na Dun, a make-believe prehistoric stone circle near Inverness, and falls through the stones—and into the 18th century.
Most Outlander Fans come to Inverness wanting to visit the real Craigh na Dun only to find out that there is no such place but there is a standing stone circle that happens to be only five minutes drive from Culloden Battlefield called Clava Cairns. This is not the fictional Craig na dun as Clava cairns has three big cairns which are not found in the fictional stone circle.
Apparently Diana only visited Clava Cairns for the first time after she had written the the first Outlander book and was surprised that it happened to have a cleft stone in it. She used this stone on the back cover of one of the books.

There are lots of standing stones and stone circles in the Inverness area but none that are called Craigh Na Dun. There is however a standing stone on a hill that overlooks Inverness just as Diana described in her books but the hill is not called Craigh Na Dun it’s called Craig Dunain
 
So where is Craigh Na Dun? In the show they made stones and erected them at a beauty spot in Kinloch Rannoch, which i talked about in my last vlog.
roamin - Taking a walk (gone on the piss, no told the missis an got lost”)
scot - a native or inhabitant of Scotland.
I will show you some of the best holiday destinations in Scotland and the World that you won't find in the brochure.
Music by Kevin Macleod : garden Music
Die Megalithanlagen Clava Cairns - Balnuaran of Clava bei Inverness, Schottland
Clava Cairns sind eine lokal begrenzte Form endneolithischer Megalithanlagen in Schottland. Zwölf von diesen nur etwa 50 artifiziellen Rundhügel liegen in der Grafschaft Inverness-shire. Die bekanntesten und namengebenden sind die drei nicht besonders großen Balnuaran of Clava, östlich von Inverness. Ein verirrtes Phänomen stellt der Cairn von Carmahome auf der Isle of Arran dar.
Innerhalb eines Kreises aus megalithischen Randsteinen wurde der Hügel aus Schotter aufgeführt, der an den Grundriss späterer Breochs erinnert. Im Inneren befindet sich die mittels Megalithen gebildete runde Kammer, zu der ein gefasster Gang führt. Regelmäßig sind Clava Cairns von einem äußeren Steinkreis umgeben, der den Cairn in 10–15 Metern Abstand umgibt. Die in der Höhe abgestuften Steine dieses aus relativ wenigen Steinen gebildeten Kreises haben ihre größte Höhe gegenüber dem Zugang zum Cairn, der nach Südwesten zeigt. Diese Merkmale erscheinen auch bei den bronzezeitlichen Ring Cairns, die im gleichen Gebiet vorkommen. Daher wird angenommen, dass die strukturelle Ähnlichkeit auf eine zeitnahe Entstehung verweist. Ein weiterer Kontext besteht mit den Steinkreisen am River Dee, die ebenfalls in der Höhe abgestuft sind.
Die Steinhügel der Balnuaran of Clava sind flach und die Gänge daher, anders als beim Corrimony Cairn, ungedeckt. Corrimony ist ein gut erhaltenes Exemplar, in einem Kreis aus elf Menhiren, der bei Cannich einige km westlich des Loch Ness liegt. Hier findet sich auch ein Stein mit Cup-and-Ring-Markierungen. Einige der Steine auf dem Gelände bei Clava in Lagmore West und beim Cairn von Gask sind ebenfalls mit Schälchen versehen. Avielochan, 17 km nordöstlich von Grantown-on-Spey (Morayshire) und Cairn Irenan, sieben Kilometer nordnordwestlich von Dingwall (Ross-shire) sind wegen des Bewuchses schlecht erkennbare Exemplare des Clava-Typs.
Scotland Tour: Hey, Pharaoh, We're Up Here...in Scotland
We all know about Stonehenge and England's famous stone circles. But I didn't realize Scotland had its fancy-pants knuckle-draggers, too. (That's your cue, caveman sympathizers.)
At Clava Cairns, set in a peaceful grove of trees just a few minutes' drive from Inverness, are the remains of three thought-provoking stone igloos, each cleverly constructed 4,000 years ago with a passageway that the sun illuminates, as if by magic, with each winter solstice. Wandering through these, knowing they're as old as the pyramids, was a trip highlight (one of many).
One thing I love about our tours is that each day, our hardworking guides have several of these little treats to spring on us. They set the historic context, then turn us loose. It's as if we hiked there ourselves, but still had a professor on call. This is one of the reasons why so many of the people who sign up for our tours start their request for our sales material by saying, I'm not the tour-taking type, but... and find our tours just right for their independent style.
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Clava Cairns, Scotland
July 15th 2010
Scottish Highlands D3 The Mysterious Clava Cairn
ROAD TRIP ESCOCIA | Día 1/3 | Arboles Outlander+Hermitage+Highland folk museum+Clava Cairns+Culloden
En nuestro primer viaje a Escocia estuvimos en Edimburgo y alrededores pero, este año, queríamos subir a las tierras altas de Escocia y nos dejamos en manos de Pequeños Tesoros en Escocia quien nos trazó el mejor itinerario posible con tan pocos días que teníamos y todo lo que queríamos ver. Por cierto, super recomendadísimos!
En este primer video os dejo un resumen de nuestro primer día de tour donde vimos los arboles gemelos donde se grabó la escena del cerro Fraser en Outlander, el bosque The Hermitage, el museo de las Highlands donde también se grabó Outlander, Clava Cairns, el campo de batalla de Culloden y dormimos en Inverness.
Clava Cairn, Inverness, Scotland
May 24, 2011 visit to Clava Cairns - the site of an exceptionally well preserved group of prehistoric burial cairns that were built about 4,000 years ago. The Bronze Age cemetery complex comprises of passage graves, ring cairns, kerb cairn, standing stones in a beautiful setting and the remains of a chapel of unknown date.
Quick Bites Scotland: Culloden & The Highlands
Jennifer & Chef Mark explore the Scottish Highlands, and Jennifer returns with her mother to the site of the historic battle of Culloden, which has important meaning to her family. We finish up with Afternoon Tea at the Culloden House Hotel.
A production of the Culinary Media Network.
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How to Access Your Ancient Wisdom ~ On Tour from Clava Cairns in Scotland
This week I visited Clava Cairns, a prehistoric, sacred, burial site in northern Scotland. Being in this environment helped me to tap into the ancient wisdom that is within me. In this video I share why we all need to access our wisdom within at this time...Watch the video and leave a comment on the blog here:
Scotland Trip Vlog Day 10 - The Highlands - Culloden Battlefield, Cawdor Castle, Clava Cairns
Our tenth day on our trip to Scotland and we went to Culloden Battlefield where the Jacobite uprising ended in a massacre, Clava Cairns, a Bronze Age burial ground, Cawdor Castle which was the setting for parts of MacBeth, and Ft. George.
See every day of our Scotland Trip (playlist):
Day 1 - Melrose Abbey & Haddington:
Day 2 - Siccar Point and Tantallon Castle:
Day 3 - Stirling Castle and William Wallace Monument:
Day 4 - Linlithgow Palace:
Day 5 - Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh:
Day 6 - England, Holy Island and Alnwick Castle (Hogwarts):
Day 7 - Edinburgh - Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Scott Monument:
Day 8 - Dunfermline Palace and St Andrews Cathedral and Castle:
Day 9 - Balmoral Castle, Cairngorms National Park, Road to the Highlands:
Day 10 - The Highlands - Culloden Battlefield, Cawdor Castle, Clava Cairns:
Day 11 - Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Glencoe:
Day 12 - Rosslyn Chapel:
Day 13 - Jedburgh Abbey & Dryburgh Abbey - Scotland Borders:
Scottish Highlands road trip Inverness to Isle of Skye, beautiful Scotland
Mum and daughter on the road, Day 2
Scotland- exploring the Clava Cairns with our guide Alistair
Scotland- exploring the Clava Cairns with our guide Alistair
Read more about Scotland on our blog
Culloden Curse Update and Outlander Tour of Scotland
Outlander Season 4 is just around the corner, so i thought it would be a good time to do an Outlander Tour, including Culloden, the Standing Stones at Clava Cairns / Craigh Na Dun, and Falkland. I also recreated a photo Diana Gabaldon took at the standing stones.
The Culloden Curse is something I've talked about before relating to my trips there. I took a piece of heather from the battle field, and ever since then we've had bad luck. Today. I'm providing an update.
Vlogs related to this video:
Our Highland Home Tour
The Culloden Curse
Tour of Craigh Na Dun
The REAL Craigh Na Dun from Outlander
HARP MUSIC by Firinna:
Outlander Season 4 - Brave The New World is a brand new poster and slogan Starz have used to tease us Outlander fans for season 4, as Jamie and Claire set out on their new life in the colonies in North Carolina - Fraser's Ridge.
#OUTLANDER #OUTLANDERSEASON4 #OUTLANDERS4
In Season 4, Claire and Jamie will brave the new world. Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan star in Outlander, returning November 4 on STARZ - watch my reaction:
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