We started the road trip on a Scottish morning that was rainy and dreary from our hotel on the Golden Mile leading to Edinburgh Castle. It was very cold for me as the temp was sub-8 with lows of 0 or -1.  What more with frequent strong winds.

On the way to Inverness, we made a short stop in Pitlochry which is Victorian in appearance with a population of about 2,776 people. 

It's supposed to be Spring but the snow has not thawed completely yet. 

Inverness Castle on the East bank of River Ness.

Some high-end properties on the same bank of the river

The Inverness Cathedral aka the Cathedral of St Andrew's Inverness on the West bank of River Ness. It was built in 1869 and features Gothic Revival architecture 

The Culloden Moor is where the Culloden Battlefield is found. The last battle of 16 Apr 1746 fought here ended the Scottish quest of independence from the King of England. The Visitor Centre is situated to the right of the clump of trees. See a later post about what Culloden has to do with "Loch Lomond", a folk song much loved by the Scots. 

This storage shed was used by the Jacobites to store ammunition and other supplies. The Jacobites, named after King James VII [James being "Iacomus" in Latin derived from Ya'aqov (Jacob) in the Greek New Testament], were the supporters and followers of  Charles Edward Stuart, fondly called Bonnie Prince Charlie (son of James VIII), who led the battle.

A schematic of the battle lines for the Jacobites and the English forces. Although the battles of independence were stretched over a considerable period of time, it was on 16 Apr 1746 that the Jacobites were soundly beaten and many taken prisoner to England. Effectively, the struggle for Scottish independence ended that day.

To remember the brave Highlanders who fought here in 1746, memorial plates were raised in the moor for the clans involved.  

We made a tour of the Glenfiddich (Valley of the Eagles) Distillery and were shown the facilities and operations; it ended with tasting four types of their Single Malt Whisky.

Our guide giving a run down of the process of whisky production.

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There must be enough whisky stored here to drown a battalion!

The ruins of Balvenie Castle are located on a hillock next to the Glenfiddich Distillery.