ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Sombre sights on woodland walk close to Culloden battlefield

By John Davidson

Published: 18:30, 01 April 2024

Colourful rags adorning the tree branches close to the clootie well are said to bring good luck.

It’s almost 278 years since the battle of Culloden left the moors above Inverness blood-stained and etched in the sombre memory of this landscape.

On April 17, the events that took place here on the same date in 1746 will be remembered once again, along with the names of many of those who met their fate.

The battlefield itself spreads much wider than the central area that is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and the ongoing controversy surrounding any plans to build on the land hereabouts shows just how important the full site remains to people to this day.

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Even well beyond the boundaries of the battlefield there are so many locations in the vicinity that have a direct link to the macabre events of that day, as well as the days following.

A wooden marker posts for the Culloden Wood Trail.

One such place is here in Culloden Wood, where the grim tale of 17 Jacobite prisoners being shot by government troops is re-told at the Prisoners’ Stone. One of their number is said to have survived to tell the tale, and the story is remembered as part of the Battlefield Trail, a longer walk incorporating the main area as well as some of these other locations.

Our walk today is a shorter one that stays within the confines of Culloden Wood, part of the national forestry estate. It begins at the parking area just off Tower Road in Smithton, and follows the marked yellow trail.

From the map and information boards in the car park, follow the sign for the Culloden Wood Trail up to the right, then turn left to follow the yellow markers. After a few hundred yards the path starts to loop back on itself, and you should look out for another yellow marker up to the left.

This boggy little stretch leads you to a better track that you turn right onto, heading uphill to soon cross the railway line.

A boulder below an old tree, which now sits just south of the railway, is said to have been a favourite spot for the local laird Duncan Forbes to rest. He had supported the government side in the battle of Culloden but apparently disapproved of the way local people were treated after their victory.

From the Lord President’s Seat, the wide track now continues to climb between tall stands of pines to reach a crossroads of tracks in the woods.

With the grandparents at the Lord President’s Seat.

The rest of the walk goes in a loop back to this point, and we decided to continue straight ahead first and soon came to the traditional clootie well.

Marked as St Mary’s Well on the map today, it has been known by several other names including the Gaelic name, Tobar na Coille, meaning well of the woodland. People would come here – and indeed many still do – to dip a rag or cloot in the water and hang it from a nearby tree.

The practice is believed to bring good luck, and certainly brightens up this corner of the woodland. Visitors are asked to only use biodegradable materials for their cloot.

The natural spring here is surrounded by a large circular wall with a small gap allowing access to the water – which doesn’t look too enticing to be honest!

After taking a look around the well, we continued around the loop, which bends left as you approach the well to cross a burn in a dip. The kids enjoyed jumping across the water here before we continued along a winding path that becomes narrower further along.

St Mary’s Well is a traditional clootie well situated within the woodland.

There was evidence of some storm damage from the winter with trees upended and other chopped where they had clearly blocked the way initially. A number of mountain bike trails leading off from the main route looked like good fun along here, too.

The path emerges from the taller trees into a younger plantation before bending to the left to reach the Prisoners’ Stone. A large bench here explains the story – in Gaelic and English – as part of the development of the Battlefield Trail.

Even 278 years after the event, and with a whole new forest having being planted and chopped down several times around the boulder, the thought of the events that took place here makes it somewhere you don’t fancy hanging around for too long.

We continued down the path to a junction with a wide forestry track, where you turn left to return to the taller trees and back to the crossroads above the railway.

After crossing the bridge again, this time we turned left to follow a shortcut path that has been recently upgraded and leads directly back to the car park.