DAY 7
LOCH NESS ~ AVIEMORE ~ CULLODEN:
Sad to say goodbye to Edinburgh but onward to more adventure. Maybe one of us will spot the Loch Ness Monster?!
Another dry day was in front of us. The travelers were greeted first thing by our guide Conor in his traditional Scottish kilt, brogues and jacket. He regaled us with the story behind the kilts and explained there are three types of kilt plaid; traditional, hunting and ancient. It takes 8 yards of fabric to make one kilt for a man. The colors of the plaid are determined by “clan” or family. During our long bus ride up through Inverness, the capitol of the Anglo Saxon people of Scotland. As we climbed into the highlands we saw many glens or valleys with many a “Bonnie” (beautiful) view! Along the way we learned about the Munroe List of mountain peaks. There are 200 peaks in Scotland. Those over 3,000 feet are Munroe, over 2,500 feet are Corbit and 2,000 feet are Marilyn. Scaling these peaks is quite competitive.
Conor again entertained us with is great voice singing O’ Flower of Scotland and the Green Green Grass of Home. Once again Prof Duncan enlisted a few brave volunteers to read Macbeth complete with a Scottish brogue and a Brockton brogue!
We arrived at the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition around the windy roads of the Loch Ness. Which is 812 feet deep, 24 miles long and 12 miles wide. This world-famous Exhibition has been recently refurbished to incorporate a seven room automated walk through telling the whole story of Loch Ness from the beginning of the Ice Age through to the present day. The experience uses animations, lasers, special effects and much of the actual equipment used in the search of Loch Ness (including the World’s largest inflatable, submersibles, sonar's, research Vessels and much more). 
As we headed back down to Inverness we visited the Visitor’s Centre in Culloden, scene of the 1746 Battle of Culloden between the Jacobite and the British armies. As the last battle being fought on British soil, Culloden marks the beginning of the dismantlement of the structures of Highland society. In the aftermath of the battle, kilts and tartans were banned. It was here that the Jacobite army fought for a Stuart king in order to reclaim the throne of Britain from the Hanoverians. Today, 250 years on, Culloden is still a site that connects Scotland intimately with Britain's past. Though this battle only lasted one hour, it still changed course of Scotland's history.
On a plaque out in the field where the battle had raged was posted the following:
lean sinn the, phrionnsa,
chun a’chuain sea de reidhe is pheilear
We followed you prince,
To this ocean of flatness and bullets
Through the audio guides we were able to listen to accounts from genuine characters who were involved in the battle, experience the battle in a 360 degree theatre, get a bird's eye view of the forces and tactics at play. After a long day of travel and visits we are all “pure done in”, feeling very tired.