Our first stop was the Clava Cairns (http://tinyurl.com/26hq555). These 4000 year old burial mounds were used by the Picts. They have been fully excavated today and you can walk into them. The morning was misty and the weather was chilly. It made for a perfect accent to the visitation of these houses for the dead.
The next stop for the day was Culloden Battlefield (http://www.nts.org.uk/culloden/). This is the site of the final battle between British Forces and the Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite Rebellion troops. The visitor center is a multi-media extravaganza. Long time lines take you through both the British and Scottish history leading up to the battle. A four screen theatre immerses you in a recreation of the battle from both sides of the conflict. Interactive digital maps, movies, sound stations, and live weapons demonstrations give you a sense of the execution of the battle and the brutality of warfare in 1746. You can go outside and walk a path around the battlefield accompanied by a GPS receiver and a headset. As you reach key points around the battlefield, the GPS beeps and starts a sound file telling you about the battlefield, the events in that area, and the people involved. As you walk between points you can choose to listen to other details about the battle. It was one of the most interesting and memorable experiences I had in Scotland. We only spent two hours there, but I could easily have spent two or three more.
We went back into Inverness after Culloden and caught a ferry up the Calledonian Canal which leads out onto Loch Ness. It was windy and there was definitely a chill out on the vast waterway. Luckily the ferry had a full bar on it so a lil' coffee spiked with scotch kept us warm.
Our destination was Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness.
This is one of the most historically significant castles in all of Scotland. (http://tinyurl.com/modj7) The visitor center here had a movie telling about all of the important history surrounding the castle. The center also had a load of information about the occupants and day to day life of the castle. The castle itself is a ruin, but it is fully explorable. We climbed up and down and into every nook we could find. The view was also spectacular as the castle sits right on the bank of Loch Ness.
I I collected some rocks from the shore of Loch Ness for some co-workers while we were there.
Back on the bus, whiskey was poured and we were on our way back to Inverness. When we went to Ireland with Men of Worth in 2008 I played a song by Against Me! for James. He figured out how to play it and I got to sing it one night during the tour. James asked me on the bus ride if I had that song with me and if I would be willing to sing it again at the jam session tonight. I lent him my iPod and we got it figured out. After dinner there was a jam session with all of the musicians from the tour. They are a very talented group and listening to them was great. I got to sing, Carol sang her parody/tour recap version of Doon in the Wee Room, and Grandpa did his version of Waiting by Hank Williams. It was a great night and one of the many joys of doing a tour with James and Donnie rather than a more traditonal tour where you are cut loose after dinner with nothing to do.
I don't have any video of the session, but here are links to the original versions of the songs we performed.
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong by Against Me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OvzoWttPDI
Doon in the Wee Room
http://tinyurl.com/2fqocb8
Waiting by Hank Willams Sr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtFQmV8Jwko
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