With the support of donors and contributions from across the world, at the end of 2014 the National Trust for Scotland was able to purchase the Culloden blunderbuss for its permanent collection. But, what is a blunderbuss?
The Culloden Blunderbuss. Picture by Peter Jolly
The term blunderbuss is from the Dutch word donderbus, which is a combination of donder, meaning thunder and bus, meaning pipe.
Rather than the sleek long muskets this gun is short and stocky and is probably best described as an 18th Century shotgun. The wide barrel allowed multiple projectiles to be fired towards the enemy doing intense damage to any enemies. Unsurprisingly the weapon was used to good effect at close range but it was not designed for accuracy with the muskets used for longer range shots.
The blunderbuss we have on display at Culloden was made around 1670 by John Finch, a leading London firearms maker, and is a rare survivor of its type. Upon the barrel is an inscription ‘Taken at the Battle of Culloden 16th April 1746 by Capt John Goodenough with 18 balls in it ‘ which adds yet more intrigue to this special piece. Records show that Captain Goodenough fought with the Government forces at Culloden in Blakeney’s 27th Foot Regiment and this blunderbuss would have made quite a battle trophy for the Captain.
As owners of the blunderbuss we hope to keep this item on display for the public to access and to help share the history of Culloden.
John Rattray was born in 1707 and was 33 when he completed his surgical training and took his oath to become a member with the Incorporation of Surgeons of Edinburgh (later this would become the Royal college of Surgeons). In his spare time he was an avid sport enthusiast and was a member of the Royal Company of Archers as well as being a keen golfer.
Statue of James Rattray
In 1744 Edinburgh Council approved a request for an annual competition to be held at Leith Links with the winner earning a silver club. The first competition was held on 2nd April and, out of 11 players, John Rattray won, earning the club and the title ‘Captain of the Golf’. As winner Rattrays signature also appears below the 13 rules of golf in the minute book of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers; these are believed to be the first rules of golf ever recorded.
The following year, however, saw the arrival of Prince Charles Edward Stuart and the beginning of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Upon his arrival to Scotland, Prince Charles wrote to the Rattray family to request their support. At first it is not clear if Rattray was eager to join but, at the battle of Prestonpans he rode out from Edinburgh to help treat the wounded and it seems here he was convinced to join the Princes army.
Rattray travelled with the Jacobites down through England and back north after their retreat at Derby. During this time he rose through the ranks and became the surgeon general, as well as Prince Charles’ personal surgeon. When the Jacobites were defeated Rattray surrendered to the Government army and was imprisoned in Inverness. With such a high rank it was likely that he would be sentenced to death.
However, Rattray wrote a letter to Duncan Forbes of Culloden. This man was the Lord President of the Court of Sessions and the most senior judge in Scotland, but, more importantly, he was one of Rattrays golfing partners. Forbes made a personal plea to the Duke of Cumberland and Rattrays friendship paid off as he was released and set free to return to his home in Edinburgh. Playing golf certainly seems to have been life or death for Rattray!
The story does not end there though, despite being freed Rattray was rearrested just a few days later as Cumberland rescinded his command. Rattray was held in London until January 1747 when he was finally released, for the last time, after having signed an oath that he would be obedient to the King.
Rattray once again made his way back to Edinburgh and returned to surgical practice. He did not give up golf though, after returning to the sport he won the silver club for the second time in 1751!
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Perhaps the most magnificent building in the city, Inverness Castle today stands on Castle Hill overlooking the river. Despite its name the castle is not some medieval fortification, withstanding battles and sieges, but a building from the year 1848. The current castle was built as a courthouse and a prison, following overcrowding in the Tolbooth prison, and remained a courthouse until 2019. However, the first castle that was built in this spot dates to the eleventh century during the reign of King Malcolm III; replacing a previous castle that was built close to where Millburn Academy is today.
Inverness Castle as it stands today
Castles have always played a part in the history of Inverness; unfortunately for Inverness though this history was often violent.
In 1303 the castle was occupied by forces of King Edward of England during the Scottish Wars of Independence; two years before the execution of William Wallace. However, less than 4 years later, it was recaptured by King Robert the Bruce and damaged as part of his scorched earth strategy. Bruce would go on to win a successful campaign and reward his allies for their assistance. It was Bruce who gave Angus Og (clan chief of the MacDonalds) the title “Lord of the Isles” – a decision that would come to affect his descendants greatly.
Future Lord of the Isles, Donald MacDonald, led a clan raid on Inverness in 1410. His son, Alexander MacDonald, also Lord of the Isles, was invited to a gathering at the castle in 1428 by King James I of Scotland. Here the king was determined to showcase his power and executed three clan chiefs and imprisoned several others who defied his rule – including Alexander Macdonald. Alexander submitted to King James later that same year, but this did not stop Clan Macdonald from returning and the castle was attacked in 1455, 1462 and 1491. It wasn’t until 1493 when King James IV broke peace with Clan Macdonald that Inverness Castle would finally see some relative peace.
This peace would not last; in 1639 civil war broke out across the British Isles as people chose to either side with King Charles I or with his covenanting and parliamentarian enemies – the War of the Three Kingdoms had begun. In 1644 the castle had become occupied by Covenanter troops: supporters of the National Covenant who opposed the King’s grab for power. Their greatest threat was the Royalist general James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, who came dangerously close to capturing the castle following his victory at the battle of Auldearn in May 1645. It wasn’t until February 1649 that Royalist forces seized the castle following the execution of King Charles, but they were forced to withdraw after a fairly sizable Covenanter army approached. The castle was attacked again by Royalist forces led by the Marquis of Huntley but Covenanter forces held them off.
Inverness Castle as it appeared in the 18th Century
Perhaps the strangest piece of castle history regards the legendary Inverness cheese riot. In 1666 a riot broke out close to the castle after a man dropped a piece of cheese into the river and refused to pay for the damages. This argument turned into a full-scale riot. The town guard was summoned, muskets were raised and shots were fired. Two people were killed and ten people were injured.
This riot opened a new wound in the old enemy of Inverness Castle – Clan MacDonald. It turned out the two killed belonged to the clan and they wanted compensation: £66,000 scots, tax exemption, any Invernessian to submit to a MacDonald, and much more. In the end Inverness only had to pay £4,800 scots, though it is unclear if the cheese was ever paid for.
The old castle finally met its end in 1746 just before the battle of Culloden. After capturing the castle Jacobite forces levelled the structure by blowing it up, killing only the engineer who lit the fuse. From then no castle sat on the hill until 1848 with the building of the current building.
Today the castle provides fantastic views of the city and, although a relatively young building compared to the likes of Abertarff House, it is still a wonderful thing to behold and an intriguing (if bloody) part of Inverness history.
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Abertarff House is the oldest house in Inverness and was constructed in 1593. This was during the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who would go on to become King James I of England in 1603. Five years prior to the house’s construction the Spanish Armada sailing for England was defeated, and both Scotland and England were participating in the Eighty Years War (AKA the Dutch war for independence) on the side of the Dutch Republic, which would end in 1648.
Abertarff House
But, this blog post covers some of the other historical events that were happening at the same time as Abertarff was built. What else was happening around the world in the year 1593?
One event in Scotland that took place was a clan battle called the Battle of Dryfe Sands (6th December). This battle took place in Annandale in the south of Scotland and its lead-up began eight years before Abertarff was built with various feuds the clans of Maxwell and Johnstone. Finally everything came to a head in 1593. The battle was fought between 2,000 soldiers from clans Maxwell, Grieves and Pollock and between 600-800 soldiers from clans Johnstone, Scott and Graham. Both forces met at the Dryfe Waters, a river that flows near Lockerbie. Despite having fewer men Johnstone’s forces had the height advantage and rushed Maxwell’s troops killing 700, including Lord Maxwell himself, and claimed victory. Abertarff House would have witnessed many clan rivalries like this during it’s time.
Further south in England William Shakespeare, perhaps the most famous playwright in the world, had just published his first work in April 1593. Called “Venus and Adonis” it was a narrative poem involving a love story between the two gods. This poem was printed from Shakespeare’s own manuscript and was an instant hit, being reprinted around 15 times before the year 1640. Shakespeare’s decision to publish poetry was the result of the London Plague of 1592-1593. This plague closed theatres and other public venues, which allowed Shakespeare to publish both ‘Venus and Adonis’, and another poem the following year. Given the class of gentry that enjoyed Shakespeare’s work perhaps the original owners of Abertarff read his work too. Maybe they read Shakespeare’s 1593 bestseller in their brand-new townhouse?
Elsewhere in England Queen Elisabeth I met with a very intriguing person. In 1593 she met with the Irish pirate queen Grace O’Malley (or Grainne Ní Mháille). O’Malley was born in 1530 when the English Tudor monarchs sought more control over Ireland. O’Malley gained a reputation for leading men into battle – her attack on Doona Castle in the North West of Ireland gained her the title of “Dark Lady of Doona.” As English power grew in Ireland, O’Malley and her family were captured and she was taken to England to petition to Queen Elisabeth I for their release. The two met at Greenwich and are said to have spoken to each other in Latin. Despite some deals being struck, England would continue to push Ireland and would result in the Nine Years War starting in April 1593.
Outside the British Isles much was still going on. 1593 saw the end of the “Hundred Years’ Croatian–Ottoman War” between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdoms of Croatia, Hungary and the Habsburgs monarchy. This war ended with the Battle of Sisak on the 22nd June with a Habsburg victory halting Ottoman expanse into central Europe. The peace that followed lasted a whole thirty-seven days; the Long Turkish War would start on the 29th July 1593 and last for thirteen bloody years.
The Battle of Sisak
Obviously however the most exciting thing to happen in the year 1593 was the construction of Abertarff House. Despite the fact we don’t know who built it, the house has withstood the test of time and has survived for 427 years – here’s to it withstanding another 427 years!
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Clava Cairns – a Bronze Age burial site situated about a mile south of Culloden Battlefield (J.Ryan)
When you think about the history of Inverness many would immediately think of the Jacobite risings and the battle of Culloden. Or, perhaps the history of the Covenanters, Cromwell and the Civil War. Maybe the Medieval history of the city, or the town’s past for trading. But Inverness boasts impressive history that goes way, way back to before even the Pictish warriors of old…
Around 7,000 years ago we start to see human settlement occurring in the area that will one day become the Highland Capital. Work done on Castle Street and Bridge Street close to the Town House uncovered pieces of flint and charcoal dating to before 5,000 BCE (or Before Common Era). These finds suggest that early nomadic hunter-gatherers settled here – perhaps traveling along the river Ness to the coastline. The land they would be travelling through would have been different to what we see today. Inverness back then would have been covered in forest: charcoal fragments found in cores collected from the bottom of Loch Ness indicate forest fires plagued the Great Glen. These forests would have been home to deer, boar, wolves and other large animals – predators and prey to the first inhabitants of Inverness.
Just as it was during the countless wars that Inverness was later involved in, prehistoric Inverness was fraught with danger. Evidence has been uncovered relating to natural disasters that affected the city; in 1839 workmen on the northern part of High Street discovered bits of “…a deer’s horn, 36 inches in length…covered in sea shells.” It is speculated that this antler came from a shell midden – a large heap of seashell often deposited by a flood or tsunami. The early hunter-gatherer societies may have settled here despite these dangers because of the important access to the sea. Pottery found in 1997 during construction of the Raigmore police station bore a striking resemblance to pottery found in Orkney and Fife, suggesting Inverness’ predecessor was used as a coastal trading post on the coast of Scotland.
Bronze Age Pottery – similar finds in Inverness suggest coastal trading took place here in the past (Am Baile)
As well as coastal trading, Inverness was a place for burial during the Bronze Age (between 3,200–600 BCE). A “cist grave” containing a sitting skeleton was found in Bught Park in 1956. The skeleton was buried alongside a bronze sword of the type dating to around 1,700 BCE. The most famous and spectacular of Inverness’ Bronze Age burial sites however has to be Clava Cairns, about a mile south of Culloden Battlefield. These burial cairns date to over 4,000 years old and would have worked as one large place for gathering and worship. These cairns may have acted as resting places for important peoples in the community, with the possibility that each of the three main cairns acted as a tomb for one or two individuals. The cairns also bear a connection to midwinter with the three cairns forming a line that runs North-East to South-West, implying the builders were focused on the midwinter sunset. During archaeological research on Culloden Battlefield a series of Bronze Age roundhouses were located on the moor – perhaps the homes that these builders used to live in.
As time went on Inverness became the dominion of the Picts (from the latin “Picti” meaning “Painted Ones”). Within Inverness itself is the hill called Craig Phadrig, which bears the remains of a vitrified hill fort dating to the reign of King Brude of the Picts who ruled Inverness in 560AD. Several Pictish stones have been found around Inverness-shire and other places close to Inverness, one example is the Knocknagael Boar Stone dating to 400 to 600AD. It was found south of Inverness and may have acted as either a grave or a boundary marker – today it is on display inside the Highland Council Headquarters.
Welcome to Abertarff House, the oldest house in the city of Inverness!
Built in 1593 this house has seen history come and go; from the ascension of King James to the English throne, unifying the crowns of Scotland and England, to the brutal and bloody wars his descendants were forced to fight across their kingdoms. Abertarff House has seen many important events in Scottish, British and World history fly-by but it has somehow remained somewhat unchanged and has stood in the same spot for over 420 years.
But what exactly is Abertarff House? Through our understanding Abertarff is what is known as a town house. If you imagine the big clan chief lives in his big stately home; if he for any reason has to stay in Inverness for several days he could, as one man described, live in a “miserably low dirty hovel” or he could have a town house – almost like a holiday home but in the centre of town and the owner would live there during their time in Inverness before moving back to their main home further afield.
To own Abertarff House – a reasonably large house in Inverness in the late 16th century, which back then had four floors – meant the owner would have been fairly rich. As to who the first owners were it is unclear; names like Scheivz, Sutor and Warrand of Warrenfield crop up in the house’s earliest history but accounts vary on the dates of ownership. Abertarff’s history gets interesting however in 1793 when it is acquired by Clan Fraser.
The first Fraser to own the house was Alexander Fraser. He was a wood merchant and schoolmaster and purchased the house from James Leslie from Orkney. Fraser then sold the house off to another Fraser, Colonel Archibald Campbell Fraser. Archibald Fraser bore an interesting life; he was the youngest son of the infamous clan chief Simon Fraser 11th Lord Lovat (nicknamed The Fox, he met his end being beheaded in London for supporting the Jacobites) and at the age of nine witnessed the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Archibald Fraser worked as a member of parliament for Inverness-shire and was among the MPs who supported repealing the dress act put in after Culloden which banned the highland dress for personal use. When Archibald Fraser died in 1815 the house passed on to his illegitimate grandson who to confuse everyone was also called Archibald (in this case Archibald Thomas Frederick Fraser).
In 1857 the Frasers of Lovat purchased the parish of Abertarff – this was situated at the southern end of Loch Ness and included the town of Fort Augustus and it is most likely this is when the house gained the name Abertarff House. What is was called before Abertarff House is still a mystery.
The Frasers owned the house up until the mid-19th century when it was acquired by the Commercial Bank of Scotland (now the Royal Bank of Scotland) and during their ownership it was used for a wide variety of purposes from tenement housing to a dentist. Disney even filmed an episode of “People and Places” in the house. But as time went on the house started to fall into disrepair and became a derelict structure by the 1950s.
Enter us, the National Trust for Scotland: in 1963 the Commercial Bank gift the house over to the Trust where, with help through donations from An Comunn Gaidhealach, work began to transform this gorgeous and wonderful little building which has seen so much history into … offices. It may seem a bit underwhelming, but it was better than the alternative; some town councillors were happy to demolish the house and build a car park in its place!
Nowadays the Trust have turned Abertarff House into a small visitor centre where locals and tourists can learn more about the history of Inverness and the highlands. We hope to continue to develop the site and offer walking tours and even weddings at the site.
Contrary to popular belief, the Battle of Culloden didn’t pitch Scotland against England. Both armies were made up of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh soldiers. The British government army also had Hanoverian soldiers, and the Jacobites had two French regiments in their ranks; Royal Ecossais and Irish Piquets (which came from the Irish Brigade). Together they contained around 600 men but of these 600 soldiers, only about 15% were French.
The Royal Ecossais was made up of Scots sent into exile in France a few years earlier as a punishment; the Irish Piquets followed the same scenario, but with Irish men.
Memorial stone for the Irish Piquets
Let’s talk a bit about these two French regiments.
Firstly, their uniforms were different from the rest of the Jacobite army; the Royal Ecossais mostly wore a dark blue jacket, while the Irish Piquets wore a red coat. Knowing that the soldiers of the British army also wore red coats, there was a real worry of confusion. To avoid any misunderstanding, the Jacobites wore a white cockade on their hat or jacket (the white rose being the symbol of Jacobitism), whilst soldiers of the British government army wore a black one. Thus, it was easy to know who belonged to which camp.
The two French regiments turned out to be very useful and they helped the Jacobites to win the battle of Falkirk on January 16, 1746 by supporting the Highland Charge.
The Highland Charge was a Jacobite shock tactic of rushing at the enemy, weapons in the air. With the French regiments mostly on horseback, it was easy for them to assist the Highland Charge once the Jacobites had reached the enemy’s army.
But, at Culloden, the French regiments were in the second line; a line that the British government army attacked even before the first cannons were fired. Busy defending the rear of the Jacobite army, the French regiments were unable to support the Highland Charge. Nevertheless, they managed to reach the battlefield as the Jacobites were forced to retreat and attacked the British cavalry, allowing many Jacobites to escape from the battlefield.
Memorial stone for the Royal Ecossais
After the Battle of Culloden, thousands of Jacobites, or presumed Jacobites, were arrested and thrown into prison. They were treated miserably: no food, untreated wounds, non-existent hygiene to name but a few. Many died before their trials, others were executed or sentenced to several years of servitude, and some were forgiven.
On the other hand, the soldiers of the French regiments, being subjects of King Louis XV, were treated as prisoners of war. They received the necessary care for their wounds, were given food and had adequate hygiene. Instead of being executed or banished, they were exchanged for British prisoners of war who were imprisoned in France.
Today on the battlefield, behind the blue flags line (representing the first line of the Jacobite army), you can see a stone, erected in 1994 by the White Cockade Society, commemorating the Scots Royal regiment who fought alongside the Jacobites and beside this is a stone commemorating the Irish Piquets.
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Many of the men who were taken prisoner during and after the 1745 Rebellion were held in prison ships. After Culloden ships could be seen in the Moray Firth, with no room in the town to house all the captives the ships were a floating prison.
Even before the battle of Culloden there were merchantmen sailing into Inverness awaiting a Government victory. Knowing that the town would never be able to hold all the prisoners they made sure they were on hand to help the Government contain the captives.
Conditions on board the vessels were unsurprisingly grim. Prisoners were shackled and often left to lie on the stones and earth that acted as ballast for the vast ships. Whilst the men may have been sheltered from the weather the dark tight confines were susceptible to diseases such as typhus and the men would often go hungry with little rations to share between them.
There are reports from the time of men being taken for ‘delousing’. This involved the men being dunked in the water, sometimes with a stone tied to their ankles. This would have no doubt killed any lice that may have existed but could also prove fatal to the men. One Highlander reported at least six cases of this ‘treatment’ occurring in one day.
Men waited on ships for weeks before going to trial and then they could be transported overseas and transferred to another ship to begin the ordeal once again. Many men died aboard the ships. Withing eight months at least two thirds of the men aboard one ship died. These men were usually the lower classes with no financial support or family to help them. Those of more standing were sometimes able to be housed with appointed guardians which offered far more chance of escape.
Only one record is known of someone escaping a prison ship. A man named Stewart Carmichael was held on board the ‘Pamela’ where rations consisted of slaughterhouse offal from pigs and cattle. He was able to find another use for some of the pigs bladders that were intended for food. Inflating four of the bladders he apparently used them as flotation devices and was able to escape and make his way to the Kent shore.
For those who survived the transport overseas they often faced life as indentured servants. Some managed to eventually gain their freedom and return home to their native lands whilst others stayed in the colonies and made great fortunes. However, the brutal journeys they had taken would surely not be forgotten.
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In previous blog posts, we have featured a variety of creatures from Scottish folklore, as well as a couple of legends, such as the tale of King Robert the Bruce and the spider. Today’s post is about another mythological creature, along with the legends behind Scotland’s flag and national flower.
Ceasg
Also known in Gaelic as maighdean na tuinne (maid of the wave) or maighdean mhara (maid of the sea), the ceasg is said to have the upper half of a beautiful woman and the tail of a salmon. Found in the sea, as well as rivers and streams, the ceasg has the ability to grant three wishes if she is captured. Often she will marry a human man (in some versions of the legend the man has been promised to the ceasg), and any sons they have are destined to become fantastic sailors. Eventually, though, the water calls the ceasg back. As a form of mermaid, there are malevolent tales associated with the ceasg. She will sometimes swallow the man whole (or his wife if he is already married), and it takes the destruction of the ceasg’s soul (kept apart in a magical object, often an egg), to stop her and return the person to safety.
The Saltire
Scotland’s flag is a white diagonal cross on a blue background. There are claims that the Saltire is the longest continuously-used national flag in the world, a claim also held by several other countries’ flags, such as Denmark’s. However long it has been in use, its origins are closely associated with Saint Andrew, Scotland’s Saint; another name for the Saltire is St Andrew’s Cross. The legend is that Andrew, who had been one of Jesus’s disciples, was crucified in Greece, but feeling too unworthy to have the same manner of death as Jesus, Andrew asked for the cross to be rotated so that it resembled an ‘X’. In tradition, the appearance of Andrew’s cross in the sky (clouds = white and sky = blue) in the 9th century spurred the Scots to victory in battle, and from that moment it became linked with Scotland.
The Thistle
The thistle has been a national emblem of Scotland for centuries. There is a legend that in a planned attack upon the Scottish army (perhaps the 13th century Battle of Largs), a bare-footed Norseman stepped on a thistle, cried out and, consequently, alerted the Scottish. The spear thistle is thought to have been the species referred to, being abundant in the country at the time, though others, including the musk thistle and the melancholy thistle, are also contenders. According to the legend, it is this incident that lead to Scotland adopting the thistle as an important national symbol. Associated with it in official use is the Latin phrase Nemo me impune lacessit, which translates to “no one provokes me with impunity.”
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The city of Carlisle, located in the northern English county of Cumbria, has special significance in regards to the 1745-46 Jacobite Rising; then a town belonging to the historic county of Cumberland, Carlisle was the site of two sieges at the end of 1745.
Charles Edward Stuart had landed in Scotland in July 1745. After success at the Battle of Prestonpans, he and the Jacobites marched across the border into England to amass further support and take the throne back for the Stuarts. General Wade, in charge of the Government army, had his troops based in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Jacobites avoided Newcastle, their plan being instead to travel down to London through the North West of England. Capturing Carlisle, the first fortress on this route, would advance their mission.
The Jacobites reached Carlisle and it was soon apparent that the town’s defences had been neglected. More attention had been paid to the towns in the North East, such as Newcastle, which had been prepared for any suspected attacks from the Jacobites for weeks; Carlisle, on the other hand, had had less time and, consequently, was defended by a garrison mostly made up of old and infirmed men, with its Castle and wall being described as dilapidated by the locals. The siege lasted for just under a week before Carlisle surrendered to the Jacobites.
Prince Charles Edward Stuart
Along with its capitulation, from Carlisle Prince Charles also got arms and horses for the Jacobites. With increased confidence, he and his army (excluding the 100 men he left to form a garrison in Carlisle) left and marched south. To the Jacobites’ disappointment, they found far fewer recruits in England than they had expected, although in Manchester 300 men volunteered and formed the Manchester regiment. There was also little explicit support from France.
In early December, the Jacobites turned back at Derby, after reaching the conclusion that it would be unwise to continue on to London. On their way back to Scotland, Prince Charles and the army stopped again at Carlisle, where he left a further 250-300 men (including the Manchester Regiment, who having suffered many deserters, now totalled 118) to garrison the Castle against the Government army.
Carlisle Castle
On the 21st of December, Government troops, now led by the Duke of Cumberland, marched to Carlisle to retake it. General Wade had been replaced due to the displeasure at how he had failed to tackle the Jacobites on their journey to and from Derby. Unsure of when help would come from Scotland, and up against an army using large gun batteries, the Jacobite troops at Carlisle eventually surrendered on the 30thDecember.
They were immediately imprisoned within the Castle, where they were kept in squalid conditions, without food or water. There are accounts of them licking the stones of the dungeon walls in an attempt to obtain some liquid. Some were hanged, with others being transported. There is a legend that the traditional Scottish folk song “Loch Lomond” was written by a captured Jacobite at Carlisle Castle. The line “O, ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road” is the prisoner saying that his “true love” will return to Scotland without him, but his execution will mean that his soul will travel back there straight away.
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Culloden Battlefield 