Leanach Cottage

Another dreich day but we decided to Brave the weather and headed to Culloden battle field for an open day and Christmas Craft fair.
We were treated by an atmospheric bagpipe player and misty scenes. There was a powercut so we had to look round the craft fair with the emergency lighting on so quite hard to see properly but I did buy 5 little bead angels.
Because we had an IV postcode we could go into the museum and battle field for free :) Really dark in the Museum and our guide handsets did not work. It was not raining as we walked round the battlefield looking at the memorial stones to the clans that had fallen. Between 1,500 - 2000 jacobites were killed or wounded compared to just 300 government soldiers.
The Blackhouse , Old Leanach Cottage, pictured is on the battlefield and thought to date from the early 18th Century so would have been there during the battle in 1746.It is thought to have been used as a field hospital for Cumberland’s men. A nearby barn is thought to have been refuse for around 30 wounded Jacobite soldiers but was burnt down by Government troops. These buildings can be seen on historic maps with another building nearby possibly a stable. Although standing alone today the area was densely populated in the past with lots of small holdings. Many changes have happened to the Cottage over time with periods of neglect.The cottage was lived in until 1912 by Bella MacDonald until her death.The 1891 census shows that she lived there with her sister and two grandchildren. They used to give tours of the Battlefield to anyone who was interested especially Victorians who came on the railways. In the early 1880’s Duncan Forbes erected a memorial cairn and the grave stones for the Clans graves.
In August 2018 the roof was re-thatched with pink heather.Apparently In the 20 years of thatching ,only 3% of the cottages are thatched in heather.
The electricity was back on when we returned so had mushroom soup and really tasty bread.
Had the car washed on the way home and went to see the decs in Simpson’s . A nice display of models but not tempted by anything.
My Dad is home from hospital :)