Clava Cairns and Fort George, Scotland

Excerpt from the book Scottish Highlands, Caribbean Islands, and more

After the battlefield of Culloden I went to see the nearby Clava Cairns a complex of three cairns surrounded by stone circles and a ring of small boulders. This complex dates from between 4,400 BC and 2,000 BC. The middle cairn never had a roof but the other two did and were burial chambers with sunlight only ever reaching the centre of the cairns at sunrise on the shortest day of the year.

My final visit was to Fort George built between 1748 and 1769 to house the forces of King George II. This magnificent fortress juts aggressively into the waters of the Moray Firth and is all angular bastions with cannons covering the sea and land approaches. The fort is a working army base, but the places where visitors are allowed is clearly marked. Barrack rooms depicting conditions from 1768 and 1860 can be visited as well as an officer’s room from 1813. Visitors are given guides and a map. Numbered plaques are displayed at various points of interest around the fort and when you arrive at one of these places tap in the number on the guide’s keypad and listen to the information provided. The gift shop is well stocked with lovely souvenirs such as quarter-litres of whisky, cufflinks with Celtic designs, and silver candle holders. From the walls of the fort Dolphins can be seen frolicking in the sea.