It was on the 16th April 1746 when the Jacobites fought the (mainly) English government army in the last battle on British soil. The government troops numbered approx 8000 compared to the approx 5500 Jacobite army. The battle itself lasted around 40 minutes but Highland life would be forever changed from this day on.

As I had covered some of the ghost stories about the battlefield in one of my podcast episodes, it seemed time to visit the place. When better than to mark the anniversary of the battle? So we decided to go and visit the battlefield and have a look around the visitor centre. The place was very busy and the weather was terrible but the visit was interesting, informative and strangely emotional.

Inside the centre, you aren’t allowed to take photos and there is an excellent history of the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself and what came after that fateful day. They have an impressive collection of weaponry which was used on the day, as well as buttons, medals, coins, swords and so on. Displays offer hi-tech audio which you can only hear when you stand underneath it – the person beside you can only hear what they have chosen to listen to! One of the things which really brings it home is the ‘immersive theatre’ which is a room you go in and are surrounded by 4 screens which take up the entire wall space and show the battle in full bloody gory detail – essentially you are in the middle and the battle rages on all around you. It is extremely powerful and the best history lesson you will ever get.

After going round the museum inside, we ventured out where you can walk around the battlefield. There are flags and information plaques to show you which army was there (blue flags=Jacobite, red=Government troops). There is the old ‘Leanach Cottage’ which was used as a field hospital for the government army after the battle and many, many headstones which were added in 1881 which show where some of the mass graves are of the slain clansmen.

I managed to get a few photos despite the strong wind and heavy downpour to give you an idea of what it is like to walk around an actual battlefield.

Many clans and regiments do not have memorials on the site but there are many who do:

Campbell, Mackintosh, Fraser, Stewards of Appin, Mixed Clans, Macgillvrey, MacLean, Maclachlan, Clan Donald, Keppoch. There are also stones which feature other regiments; the French Royal Regiments -the Irish Picquets and the Royal Ecossaise.

If you want to read more detailed information about the battlefield, including why the ‘Well of the Dead’ is so named, you can find that here.

Here is the short video I made of our trip: