Culloden, Highland

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Culloden (from Scottish Gaelic Cul lodan, "back of the small pond"; modern Gaelic Cuil Lodair) is the name of a village three miles east of Inverness, Scotland and the surrounding area. Three miles south of the village is Drummossie Moor (often called Culloden Moor^[1]), site of the Battle of Culloden.

Culloden village was originally made up of estate houses attached to Culloden House.^[2] Historic buildings include Culloden House itself, which is now a hotel, the Culloden stables, now rebuilt as holiday homes, and the historic tithe barn which is now the Barn Church. In the 1960s an area near the historic village was drained for a council housing project, including Culloden Stores, Culloden Academy^[3] and Duncan Forbes Primary School, named after the Forbeses of Culloden, who owned Culloden House from 1626 to 1897. More recent private housing developments have since grown up around it. Culloden House nows stands as one of the luxury country house hotels in Scotland.

The parish of Culloden includes three other communities: Balloch (Pronounced bə-'lox), Smithton and Westhill. Like Culloden, Balloch is a village of some antiquity. Smithton and Westhill are post-war housing developments. Note possible confusion with Balloch ('bæ:-ləx) in West Dunbartonshire or Balloch in Cumbernauld and Westhill, Skene near Aberdeen.

Culloden battlefield is under the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and its visitors' centre is a major tourist attraction. Apart from the battlefield, the most notable site in the surrounding area is the "Clootie Well", in Culloden Woods, where brightly coloured rags are hung as offerings from people wishing to be cured of ailments. A similar, and better known, well is near Munlochy. This tradition may be based on Celtic ceremonies, involving votive offerings to water spirits. The Cairns of Clava, a group of Bronze Age burial mounds, are located at Balnauran of Clava, about a mile south-east of the battlefield.

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ * Computer-generated virtual panoramas Culloden Moor Index
2. ^ Ordnance Survey grid reference for Culloden House: NH721464
3. ^ Culloden Academy website

Coordinates: 57.48972° N 4.13532° W