Culloden Battlefield

The battlefield lies on Drummossie Moor, about five miles east of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. On 16 April 1746 the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart met the government forces of the Duke of Cumberland here, in the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising.

The fighting lasted less than an hour. Between 1,500 and 2,000 Jacobites were killed or wounded, against about 50 government dead. The defeat ended the rising, and the harsh measures that followed, against clan culture, dress and weapons, changed life in the Highlands for generations.

The National Trust for Scotland visitor centre opened in 2007 and tells the story from both sides. A 360 degree immersion theatre places visitors between the battle lines, the museum displays weapons and objects recovered by archaeologists, and a roof terrace looks out over the moor.

Outside, paths cross the battlefield, with red and blue flags marking where the two armies stood. Along the old road are the memorial cairn, about 6 metres high, and the headstones of the clan graves, both erected by Duncan Forbes in 1881. Leanach Cottage, a thatched building of about 1760, stands near the site of a building used during the battle.

The moor itself can be walked without a ticket, while the visitor centre charges admission and includes a guided battlefield walk; seasonal hours apply. Visiting the exhibition first makes the field easier to read, and two to three hours covers both. Local buses run from Inverness, and the Bronze Age Clava Cairns, about 2.5 kilometres away, make a natural second stop.

The Well of the Dead and other markers on the moor

Several markers on the field are worth seeking out once you know the story. The Well of the Dead, west of the site of Old Leanach cottage, has a stone set up by Duncan Forbes where the body of Alexander McGillivray of Dunmaglass, who led Clan Chattan in the charge, was found. Nearby, the English Stone marks the traditional burial place of the government dead, in a spot known as the Field of the English.

On the eastern side of the battlefield, the Cumberland Stone is said to mark the place from which the Duke of Cumberland directed the battle. The clan grave headstones line both sides of the old road that still crosses the field, a route laid out in the early nineteenth century.

The moor is still giving up finds. In October 2025 archaeologists uncovered a complete, unexploded 17.5 pound mortar shell, the only complete piece of ordnance recovered from the site so far. The National Trust for Scotland is restoring the moorland to its 1746 appearance and wants to bring more of the battlefield under its care, and it has campaigned against housing development on the surrounding land.