Overview

The National Trust for Scotland’s Culloden Visitor Centre blends old and new with creative use of wood and stone. A modern building it is easily accessible and once you venture beyond to the battlefield the paths are hard surfaced to allow for easy getting around.

Transport & Parking

Culloden is probably best approached using your own vehicle where a large car park can accommodate cars and coaches. A row of accessible parking bays can be found handily close to the entrance walkway. There is a frequent public bus service from Inverness if you want to travel by public transport. Buses are wheelchair accessible too.

Access

A slabbed entrance walkway takes you from the car park into the visitor centre. Here you have the choice of visiting the well stocked gift shop, popping in the cafe for a coffee and cake or proceeding straight to the exhibition on onward to the battlefield. The visitor centre is spacious and there’s plenty of room to move around; although it can sometimes get very busy. The cafe was of the self service style and you pay at a pay point. We found the staff here were amazingly helpful and we were soon settled at a table pondering how many marshmallows they could cram in to a hot chocolate and then cover with cream! The entrance to the exhibition start with the information desk where you buy your tickets and you can get an audio guide to help you explore. The tour stars with quite dim corridors of artefacts and then you can dip in to a film area, and move on to the more open space where a canon and other munitions serve to remind of the devastation of battle. Leaving the visitor centre via the automated doors we went out on the the wind swept battlefield. Flags fluttered in the distance indicating the battle lines of each of the opposing forces. We walked for a bit until we came to the stones marking the graves of the many clans who took part and the memorial in the centre of the field. It was an eerily moving experience and touched us more than we thought as we saw many of the clan markers had flowers left by folk with an affinity to the names. The whole perimeter can be walked around but we’d advice dressing for the weather as it was a wee bit cold when we ventured out.

Toilets

The modern visitor centre had toilets located adjacent to the cafe area. Passing though the lobby door there were male and female toilets and once inside each had an accessible toilet. Large spacious and well appointed. Be careful when opening the door to leave as you emerge right alongside the hand driers where people are often standing or queueing.

Staff

The staff we met were helpful and friendly. We were particularly impressed by the cafe staff who helped us get refreshments and then settled in a comfy spot to watch the world go by.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Culloden is one of those places where you can easily choose how much you want to do or get involved as it has plenty of open space to rest a while and reflect. A great cafe if you want to refuel and interesting exhibits and walks if you want the in-depth experience. The audio guide was particularly helpful in bring much of this alive for us.

Photos