Cawdor Castle, Fort George and Hootenanny's (live Scottish music) - 16 May

Slow start this morning. Grabbed a freebie croissant (from our previous accommodation) and warmed it up in the microwave before adding butter and strawberry jam. Just the thing to accompany my cup of coffee ☕.

Bit overcast this morning but not too cold. Still having dry cough spasms but don't feel crook. Started taking lemsip capsules again, so fingers crossed they work as well as they did weeks ago. We are off to Cawdor Castle this morning. It's about 30 mins away from our location and we head off just after 10am.

Cawdor Castle (previously called Calder - who is one of my G-G-G Grandmothers) has an interesting history. The legendary tale goes that the Thane of Cawdor, who had a small castle about a mile away, decided to build a new, stronger tower. Following the instructions received in a dream, he loaded a coffer of gold on to the back of a donkey and let it roam about the district for a day. Wherever the animal lay down to rest in the evening, there his castle should be sited and it would prosper for evermore. The donkey lay down under a tree, which is now petrified at the base of the old tower at Cawdor. Here it is (it's kept in a dimmed room, hence the dark photo):

Whatever truth there may be in the story, modern scientific radiocarbon dating of the wood gives the approximate date of AD 1372.

During 600 years of tumultuous Scottish history, feuds with neighbours, kidnappings and murder; Cawdor as a fortress, has survived. The Battles of Auldearn and The Battle of Culloden both happened within 8 miles of Cawdor. During Cromwell's campaign to subdue the Highlands, a warrant was signed by General Monck exempting Cawdor from use as quarters for officers and soldiers. It truly has been very lucky. 

The grounds at Cawdor are also quite stunning and large. They contain three carefully cultivated gardens created over generations;

🌼a Flower Garden; 

🌺Walled Garden; and 

🌲Wild Garden.

The Flower Garden was laid out circa 1710 by Sir Archibald Campbell, the then Thane's brother. The formal design is most likely influenced by the young Thanes travels to Poituers, Blois and Paris in France. Here's some photos:

The Walled Garden is the original kitchen garden and the oldest at Cawdor. It was remodelled in 1981 (designed by the current owner the Dowager Countess of Cawdor), and now hosts a sculptural maze containing over 1200 holy plants. 

The Wild Garden is set among the tall trees of the Big Wood and accessed via a discreet door in the wall of the Flower Garden:

Having grabbed mushroom and leek soup for lunch, we head off to Fort George only about 5 mins away.

Fort George is about 42 acres (or 40x football ovals) in size and the finest example of 18th century military engineering in the British Isles - having never fired a shot in anger.

Strategically located on a promontory, the army base was designed to evade capture. It was built on a monumental scale, making use of sophisticated defence standards, with heavy guns covering every angle. The boundary walls of the fort housed:

• accommodations for a governor, officers, an artillery detachment and a 1,600-strong infantry garrison
• more than 80 guns
• a magazine for 2,672 gunpowder barrels
• ordnance and provision stores
• a brewhouse
• a chapel.

Fort George was one of the ruthless measures introduced by the government to suppress Jacobite ambitions after the nearby Battle of Culloden. It was intended as the main garrison fortress in the Scottish Highlands and named after George II.

Lieutenant-General William Skinner was the designer and first governor of Fort George. He mapped out the complex layout of:

• ramparts
• massive bastions
• ditches 
• firing steps.

Defences were heavily concentrated on the landward side of the promontory - the direction from which a Jacobite assault was expected. Long stretches of rampart and smaller bastions protected the remaining seaward sides.

Later in the 1700s, when the Jacobite threat was over, the fort became a recruiting base and training camp for the rapidly expanding British Army. Many a Highland lad passed through its gates on his way to fight for the British Empire across the globe.

Between 1881 and 1964, the fort served as the depot of the Seaforth Highlanders. Fort George is currently the home of the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS).

Enjoyed walking around the Fort and seeing the similarities between what I'd learned and practiced as an Army Reservist to what these guys do - very similar in multiple ways.

After another wonderful day we head back to Inverness and our pub dinner (including live Scottish music) at a place with the fantastic name Hootananny's. 

Great grub and the live music was entertaining (fiddle and guitar):

Walked back to our accommodation and a good nights sleep. Bit sad as Jen leaves us tomorrow to fly home.

We'll drop her off at Inverness Airport as she catches a quick flight to London before staying the night there and grabbing the direct flight to Perth, then Melbourne.

Sleep 💤💤