Seòras Highland and Outlander Tours

21/05/2026

Some wanderings closer to home in last couple of days. Nice to see flowers left at the gravestone that British soldiers used to prop up Jacobite prisoners too weak to stand for ex*****on.

Also nice to see the Food Hall at the Victorian Market in full swing. It's busy for sure, but the wait is minimal and there's loads of seating. It's been a terrific success story. We had a lovely pizza between 2 of us and that was plenty

Finally, got a chance to see the amazing view on the Foxhole Abriachan road now that the trees have been felled. Just wow 👌

18/05/2026

Volume up

The peace and quiet of Skye broken by the noise of the waves in Staffin Bay echoing off The Quiraing

18/05/2026

The peaceful calm of the early morning in Staffin, Skye.

Volume up 🔊⬆️

The sound of the waves crashing in the bay echoing off the Quiraing ❤️

30/04/2026

With all the warm weather recently the Highlanders (human and bovine) need to take to the shade.

How many of our furry friends can you see in this photo?!

27/04/2026

St. Columba's Isle, Skeabost, Skye

St Columba’s Isle (Eilean Chaluim Chille) on the Isle of Skye is a small but deeply historic place beside the River Snizort near Skeabost. Tradition says Saint Columba visited here in the 6th century while spreading Christianity through the Highlands and Islands.

Later, the island became home to Snizort Cathedral, once the cathedral church of the Bishops of the Isles and one of the most important religious centres in the Hebrides.

Today, its peaceful ruins and ancient gravestones remain, including the resting place of many Clan Nicolson chiefs—a quiet reminder of Skye’s rich spiritual and clan history.

22/04/2026

A visit to Boleskine House today and other nearby attractions.

The Boleskine House Foundation have done an incredible job turning around the tragedy of the destruction by fire of this famous residence and constructing an amazing visitor experience.

We also visited Falls of Foyers, The River Foyers and Stratherrick War Memorial

19/04/2026

18/04/2026

A wee visit to Queen's View yesterday with an amazing vista over Loch Tummel to the mountains of Glen Coe and Schiehallion.

Also here is the famous "Soldiers Leap" where Redcoat Donald McBane famously jumped 18 feet (5.5 meters) across the raging River Garry to escape pursuing Jacobites after the Battle of Killiecrankie on July 27, 1689.

16/04/2026

Today marks the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. There's a commemoration service on Saturday but I can't make it so I went today to pay my respects.

24/03/2026

Over west on a recce and a wee stop with A.P. to see the site of the Battle of Glen Shiel.

Without going too much into the history of the battle, I remember being told that some of the defensive walls built by the Spanish are still visible. Easier to see before the summer growth gets too deep I thought now would be the best time to take a look.

My pal Ross MacMillan who was brought up in the Glen tells me that his father, Dolan, thought that given the strategic location - the vantage point overlooking the narrowest part of the glen - the walls up here may have been in place long before the battle. Some of the infrastructure might also been put in place by the Seaforth MacKenzies.

I'm not sure if what I was looking at was definitely built for defence, nor am I sure when it was built but these could very well have been used by the Spanish soldiers at the battle in 1719.

The area where we were and from where the photos are taken is where the force of about 300 Spanish Marines were located. Rob Roy MacGregor was present at the battle with a small force of about 40 men. The total number of Jacobites was about 1,000 - roughly the same as the number of Government troops.

It's interesting that some textbooks claim the Jacobites abandoned their Spanish allies. This conflicts with what I have been told anecdotally that the Spaniards organised a fighting retreat to buy time for the Jacobites. As subjects of the Spanish Crown, the marines would be taken prisoner of war whereas the Highlanders would be executed as traitors.

274 Spanish were taken prisoner and returned to Spain 4 months later. The mountain above the pass is named Sgurr nan Spainteach to remember the heroism and sacrifice of these marines whose rear-guard action saved the lives of many Highlanders.