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Bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu Chaisteal Chill Ràthaig. Tha e a’ nochdadh, mar ‘Culraick’, air seann mhapa a rinn Iain MacFhionnlaigh. Tha loidhne air a’ mhapa, a’ dol eadar Cùil Lodair agus Cill Ràthaig a tha ag ràdh ‘The Highlanders’ March in Order to Surprise the Duke in his Camp’. Tha dà loidhne an uair sin a’ dol an rathad eile agus tha seo sgrìobhte orra: ‘The Highlanders’ March from Culraick to Culloden’.

Air a’ chòigeamh latha deug dhen Ghiblean, seachd ceud deug, ceathrad ʼs a sia (1746), bha armailt an riaghaltais a’ campachadh faisg air Inbhir Narann. Bha cùisean ann am fàbhar an riaghaltais. Bha barrachd shaighdearan aca na bha aig na Seumasaich. Bha armachd na b’ fheàrr aca. Agus bha longan-cogaidh aca air acair faisg air Àird nan Saor. Bha biadh gu leòr aca. Cha robh sin fìor mu arm nan Seumasach.

Air an fheasgar sin, mu thrì uairean, dh’aontaich na ceannardan Seumasach armailt a chur a dh’Inbhir Narann. Bha iad a’ dol a thoirt ionnsaigh air an nàimhdean air an oidhche. Dh’fhalbh na Seumasaich aig ochd uairean. Bha iad an dùil an ceann-uidhe a ruigsinn aig dà uair sa mhadainn. 

Ach bha iad ro shlaodach anns an dorchadas. Aig dà uair sa mhadainn, bha iad pìos beag seachad air Caisteal Chill Ràthaig. Bha astar ri dhol fhathast. Rinn iad co-dhùnadh tilleadh a Chùil Lodair. 

Bha na saighdearan Seumasach claoidhte. Bha an t-acras orra. Cha robh iad ann an sunnd airson sabaid an ath latha. Agus chaidh an latha sin leis an riaghaltas.

Nuair a bha Caisteal Chill Ràthaig fhathast ann an làmhan nan Ròsach, bha bobhla-puinse ainmeil aca. Bha iad a’ cumail a-mach gun do ghabh Teàrlach Òg Stiùbhart deoch às.

Beagan làithean an dèidh sin, an dèidh Blàr Chùil Lodair, a rèir beul-aithris, thadhail Diùc Chumberland air a’ chaisteal. Dh’fhàg e paidhir bhòtannan ann. Cò aige tha fios cà’l na bòtannan a-nise.

Ma tha ùidh agaibh ann an eachdraidh nan Seumasach, ʼs fhiach sùil a thoirt air Caisteal Chill Ràthaig, co-dhiù on taobh a-muigh. Tha e le buidheann-charthannais Chrìosdail an-diugh, agus chan eil e fosgailte don mhòr-shluagh.

I was telling you about Kilravock Castle. It appears, as ‘Culraick’ on an old map that John Finlayson made. There is a line on the map, going between Culloden and Kilravock that says ‘The Highlanders’ March in Order to Surprise the Duke in his Camp’. There are two lines going the other way and this is written on them: ‘The Highlanders’ March from Culraick to Culloden’.

On the fifteenth of April 1746, the government army was camping near Nairn. Matters were favouring the government. They had more soldiers than the Jacobites had. They had better weapons. And they had warships at anchor near Ardersier. They had enough food. That wasn’t true about the Jacobite army.

On that afternoon, at about three o’clock, the Jacobite leaders agreed to send an army to Nairn. They were going to attack their enemies at night. They were expecting to reach their destination at two o’clock in the morning.

But they were too slow in the darkness. At two o’clock in the morning, they were a little past Kilravock Castle. There was still a distance to go. They made the decision to return to Culloden.

The Jacobite soldiers were exhausted. They were hungry. They weren’t in a mental condition to fight the next day. And the government won the day.

When Kilravock Castle was still in the hands of the Roses, they had a famous punch bowl. They reckoned that Bonnie Prince Charlie took a drink from it.

A few days later, after the Battle of Culloden, according to tradition, the Duke of Cumberland visited the caslte. He left a pair of [thigh] boots there. Who knows where the boots are today.

If you are interested in Jacobite history, it’s worth looking at Kilravock Castle, at least from the outside. It’s owned by a Christian charity today, and it is not open to the general public.