Madainn Mhath
Phrase: madainn mhath
Pronunciation: matin va
Means Good Morning in Scottish Gaelic
Travel Talk:
Firstly, it’s pronounced (in English) ‘gal-ick’. Irish Gaelic is pronounced (in English) ‘gay-lik’. The (Scottish) Gaelic name for (Scottish) Gaelic is Gàidhlig, pronounced ‘gaa-lik’, not to be confused with the Irish (Gaelic) name for Irish (Gaelic), which is written Gaeilge and pronounced ‘gail-gyuh’.
Today’s Itinerary
Breakfast
Breakfast will be in the kitchen or there is a cafe at our first stop… The Culloden Museum.
Today is all about history
We will head west today to Inverness. Stops today will be Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns. Then we can head up east back along the coast and see Fiddle Bow Rock. Also, we visit the town of Fordyce. After this we can make our way back to the Kellas Estate by way of distilleries in Speyside.
Inverness, Scotland
It is the long-established centre of the Highlands and lies at the best crossing place of the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness at the east end of Glen Mor. Situated astride the river and the Caledonian Canal, it commands the route system of northern Scotland.
Culloden Battlefield
The Battle of Culloden (Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. It was the last pitched battle fought on British soil.
Clans of Scotland Map
Clava Cairns
The Clava Cairns are about 4,000 years old and were built to house the dead. The cemetery remained a sacred place in the landscape for millennia, and provides many clues to the beliefs of Bronze Age society.
What remains today would have once been part of a larger complex. Two parts of the complex, Balnuaran of Clava and Milton of Clava, are open to the public. The sites contain a range of prehistoric burial monuments and the remains of a medieval chapel.
Lunch
Lunch will be a picnic at Clava Cairns or stop on the way to Speyside.
Optional Excursions
Moray Cost and Fiddle Bow Rock
Experience the wild beauty and charm of the coast: sea cliffs, wonderful beaches, picturesque fishing villages, and a famous rock formation.
Also the town of Fordyce in this area. Mom’s ancestor John Robert Bruce was born in Fordyce in 1690. He came to the United States in some time after 1720 and founded the town of Brucetown, Virginia. John’s son James Robert Bruce went on to found the town of Bardstown, Ky.
Speyside Distilleries
Playing host to more than 50 distilleries in Scotland, Speyside has the greatest concentration of malt whisky producers compared to every other whisky producing region. Today we will visit a few. This makes David a happy man!
Dinner At Kellas House
Tonight we have Chef Alistair Fowlie coming to Kellas House to prepare a private dinner for us.
Get Some Sleep!
Tomorrow is a Castle and Raptors kind of day!