June 18 to 20—Scottish Highlands June 18—Kilravock Castle—near Inverness Blair Castle June 18—Kilravock Castle—near Inverness We slept in and were almost late for breakfast. It must be the clean Highland air. However, we were only a few min- utes late. Julie had eggs, ham and mushrooms which she said were excellent. I had cereal as I wasn’t too hungry. We checked out of Dalgreine House and set off down the road to Blair Castle where we enjoyed an excellent tour of the castle. As always I found the castle impressive, with its white exterior, and Julie found it impressive as well. The weather was turning cool, and it had started to rain. We were glad we would be inside most of the day. We spent about 2 hours at the castle. I enjoyed viewing the portraits Battle of Culloden from the Jacobite era. There was also a huge display of china—all different kinds from all other the world. Blair Castle is a private residence and home of the Murray family, who hold the title of Dukes of Atholl. It is located on the main road through the central highlands. The castle was besieged by the Jacobites during the upris- ing in 1745-1746. The people living there were near starva- tion when the Jacobites withdrew to fight at Culloden. The entry hall is really impressive with collections of weapons, paintings and beautiful woodwork. The stags were Entrance ones that were hunted in the area. Staircase June 18—Kilravock—near Inverness (Cont’d) We climbed the large staircase to the upper floors where we toured the dining room, bed- rooms and general living area. The paintings on the staircase walls were representations of the family over the years. Walking through the Drawing Room we could imagine the family sitting playing cards, or reading in front of the fireplace. Displayed throughout the castle are Drawing Room needlework, photography, furniture and hunt- 10th Duke of Atholl ing trophies collected by the Murray family over many generations. Blair Castle entertained many notable guests during the years, among them Mary Queen of Scots who vis- ited the castle in 1564. Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed at Blair Castle on his way south to Edinburgh in 1745. In 1844, Queen Victoria visited Blair Castle for three weeks and that is when she fell in love with the Scottish Highlands, a love that never left her. June 18—Kilravock—near Inverness (Cont’d) The Murray family endured divided loyalties during the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite uprisings. One of the Duke’s sons took part in the 1715 uprising and because he supported the Jaco- bites he had to take refuge in France after their defeat. Dur- ing the 1745 uprising, William Murray and another son fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie, and briefly stayed at the castle when the Jacobite Derby Suite army passed by. The castle Queen Victoria Stayed in this was later captured by govern- Room ment troops. One of the Murray’s inherited a great deal of money from his grandmother and was able to restore and refurbish the Dining Room castle, lands, and properties. The castle today provides the garrison for the Atholl High- landers, the private army of the Duke of Atholl, noted as the only legal private army in Europe. The Tapestry Room contains the Mortlake Tapestries that Tapestry Room once belonged to King Charles I and were sold by Cromwell after the King’s execution. June 18—Kilravock (Cont’d) We explored three floors in the main part of the castle. The upper two floors were a mix of large and small, more intimate rooms. We really enjoyed the China Room, with displays of the hundreds of pieces of china held by the family over the years. The largest room in the castle is the ballroom, which we passed Ballroom—Blair Castle through on our way to the gift shop and restaurant. It was still raining when we left the castle. We drove on the A9 towards Inverness on our way to Kilravock Castle, located about 25 miles out- side of Inverness. We drove through the little village of Croy that only had one store. We stopped and purchased some stamps and postcards. We also bought clothes detergent China Display—Blair Castle so we could wash our clothes while we were at staying at the castle. Kilravock Castle One of the Kilravock barons. June 18—Kilravock (Cont’d) We continued our drive to Kilravock Castle which was sup- posed to be a few minutes drive from Croy. Of course we got lost. The castle is not visible from the main road be- cause it is located quite far back on about 20 to 30 acres of land. The main road is tree lined near the entrance to the small road leading to Kilravock but luckily there is a large sign that is clearly visible, indicating where to turn to get to the castle. We drove up the winding lane, through tall pine trees, and passed a barn where lots of pigs and cows Julie—outside Kilravock Castle were housed. We eventually saw the castle through the trees. We were able to park right in front of the castle. The sun was peeking through the clouds and the weather was starting to improve. Kilravock (pronounced “kilrock”) Castle is the seat of the Rose Clan. The Farley family is a member (sept) of the Rose Clan (Fairley, Fairlie, Farlie). Septs were large and powerful families within a Clan. They did not share the na- tive surname but in some cases their heads could be as powerful as the Chief himself. Smaller clans could also bond together for protection, forming a larger confedera- tion. June 18—Kilravock (Cont’d) One branch of the Farley family came to England with William the Con- queror from Normandy and the family branched out, some staying in England, some moving to Scotland, and some moving to Ireland. We were glad to be staying at the castle because of its family connection. The clerk, a young man from Cambridge, greeted us and gave us all the information we would need for our stay. There is also another lady who manages the castle. They have B&B accommodations and they have large gardens where they host local events for different groups in the area. We checked in and arranged to take a tour of the castle the next Heather room—you can see by the thickness of the walls in the windows that the building is morning after breakfast. We also purchased a few postcards and noticed very old. they also had a few souvenirs for sale. We were somewhat surprised to find that the castle is a religious retreat (Kilravock Christian Trust Estate) where they hold conferences and weddings. Kilravock Castle is located close to Culloden Battlefield, Fort George, as well as Cawdor Castle and the Clava Cairns. Our rooms were located in the old stables and Julie and I were in sepa- rate rooms. She was at one end of the stables and I was at the other end. They were only a few feet apart, though. The rooms are all named for flowers or plants. My room was called the Laburnum and Julie’s the Lav- ender. My room was quite small but it had a large window overlooking the castle gardens. Cawdor Castle June 18—Kilravock (Cont’d) The weather had started to warm up and the sun was shining, al- though the air was still a bit chilly. The gardens around the castle were beautiful. There are many rare trees in the gardens, many very old and very large. It was necessary to keep my curtains closed because people visiting the gardens walked past by window. My room had a bathroom which was for my use only, but it was lo- cated outside of my bedroom. My room had a sink so I was able to wash some clothes. The bathroom and my room had heaters in them so they were both quite warm and I could drape my clothes Cedar of Lebanon tree—very old! over them to dry. The only other room on my floor (main) was the lounge, which had a television, stereo and lots of books to read. It was quite a nice lounge with a large fireplace and soft sofas and chairs. Julie’s room was quite a bit larger than my room but she shared a bathroom. She said she didn’t mind—should would prefer the larger room. Both rooms were nicely decorated. Julie and I agreed on a time to meet in the morning. Julie said she would call on me because she had an alarm clock. I organized my souvenirs and started reading the book by Diana Gabaldon Layering beech tree (“Voyager”) that I had purchased to reacquaint myself with the area. The story took place during and after the Battle of Culloden. Her latest book is called “An Echo in the Bone” and continues the story of Jamie and Claire Fraser and their experiences during the War of Independence in the United States. June 19—Kilravock (Cont’d) I slept until 7:30—I must have been tired. My twin bed was very comfort- able even if the room was tiny. Julie called on me at about 8:30 and we went to the castle for breakfast. We had a little table in the window over- looking the gardens. The views of the gardens were very nice. We were served a traditional Scottish breakfast with porridge, eggs, ham, toast, etc.