Formal Tours

Formal tours are a great thing. First and foremost, someone else is driving. If they are good, they will not only drive, but back-up, turn around and generally maneuver in places that you were certain they could not all for the sake of the perfect picture. We had all of that and more in Hugh Allison.

Hugh was doing an Outlander tour. For those of you who have read The Outlander series, you will know what this means. For those of you who have not, it simply means that we were able to see places relevant to the book, some real, some that just fit the author’s fictitious places. Hugh was a wealth of information, and a published author. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and I would be amiss if I did not say that if you ever needed a tour in the Highlands of Scotland, Hugh Allison would be your man.

I also should mention the others who were on the tour, if only because we crashed at the last minute. Michelle was a huge fan of the Outlander books, her husband and son, not so much. Mark and Josh hung in there with admirable patience, considering the subject matter. Mark was quick-witted and generally happy, and Josh was a model of politeness, gallantly taking the back seat without complaint.

We started at Clava Cairns,

However, since I covered that in the previous post, I will only say here that Hugh was very knowledgeable about the stone cairns, and it was refreshing seeing it with someone who could explain the fascinating aspects.


We headed to Culloden Moore next.

Since Robyn and I had already spent three hours there the day before, we had hot chocolate and scones while they toured the inside. Have I mentioned how good the food is? When I asked for hot chocolate, the girl at the counter asked if I wanted Marshmallows and cream. I get both? It was heaven, and as I slurped the mound of whipped cream and melting marshmallows, I only wondered for a second how long it would take to walk it off.

Once the group finished with the inside, we all went outside to get Hugh Allison’s expert talk on the battle of Culloden. He was quite educated on the matter, and had many stories to tell, collected from his years of working at the visitor’s center. For instance, Leanach Cottage was occupied up until 1912, when the woman living there, who was 80 by then, finally moved out.

I am talking about a dwelling that is roughly the size of a small living room, and has a roof made of heather. This woman was a battlefield guide, as was her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.


The next place we went to was something called a Clootie well.





What is a Clootie well? A Clootie well is a place where ailing souls go to rid themselves of their infirmities.  Different theories abound. It must be done on the 1st of May; you must circle the well three times chanting a Celtic prayer, or possibly dip the article of clothing associated with the illness, ie; stocking from an ulcerative foot,  in the well before hanging it on the tree. No matter how many theories there are regarding the placement of the clothing, the one certain thing that everyone seems to agree on is one must never remove something that you didn’t hang, because if you do, you will take on the ailment of the individual who did put it up.

The next stop on our tour was The Storehouse at Foulis Ferry, on the shore of Cromarty Firth in Monro Country.

There was a lovely restaurant with a view of the water, a visitor’s center shop, and of course, the 18th Century Storehouse set up as a self-touring adventure complete with a movie at the end. The
Storehouse was the place the Lairds would bring   their tennants rent in the form of grain or livestock.  It would reside here until they could get it onto a ship to take to a large city where they could convert it to cash.

Next stop was a Mackenzie dwelling; a structure, which served as the model for Castle Leoch in Outlander.
I would not mind living here!
The next place was found after the book was written in an effort “show” what Lallybroch might have looked like. It is indeed, an 18th century dwelling, and serves as a Bed and Breakfast. The owners kindly allowed us to have afternoon tea here.

After a delicious tea, we headed to Beauly Priory. http://www.scalan.co.uk/Beaulypriory.htm This website has some interesting information about the Priory and its history. Although the Priory is amazing in its own right, I could not stop thinking about the 800-year-old Elm tree that marks the gated entrance. If trees could talk, what a tale it would have to tell…