Hotels near the Culloden

Culloden, just east of Inverness, marks the site of the last major battle fought on British soil. The desolate area saw the final demise of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite rebellion on 16 April 1746 at the hands of "Butcher" Cumberland.

George II's son William Augustus (Duke of Cumberland) received the bloody sobriquet "butcher" for his merciless treatment of the Jacobites throughout the Highlands after the battle. Bonnie Prince Charlie's dreams were totally shattered and, eventually escaping the clutches of the English, after nine months he eloped to Rome. Incredibly, he lived another 43 years, a broken and drunken man, although the romance of his story grew.

The National Trust of Scotland now owns the site and runs the Culloden Visitor's Centre, dedicatedly restoring the field to how it would have looked at the time of the battle. During the summer visitors can relive the drama of Culloden at Living History presentations in the original Leanach Cottage (now restored), which survived the battle being fought around it.

The Trust also cares for the Graves of the Clans, the Well of the Dead, the Memorial Cairn, the Cumberland Stone and the Field of the English. The Visitor Centre encompasses a Jacobite exhibition, including an 18th-century sampler commemorating the battle, as well as a historical display.