Culloden Battlefield Tours and Tickets

Yes, it is worth visiting Culloden Battlefield, especially if you are interested in Scottish or British history. This is the exact spot that marked the end of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Beyond seeing the battlefield itself, there’s an excellent visitor center with a 360-degree battle immersion theatre to give you a feel for this moment in time.

Visitors also give rave reviews for the on-site gift shop (it’s so good it’s won awards) that sells locally sourced products including Loch Lomond shortbread, homemade preserves, and silver jewelry made with flowers picked from the battlefield. All profits from the shop go toward conserving historic sites in Scotland.

Most visitors find roughly 2 hours to be a reasonable amount of time at Culloden Battlefield, though history buffs may want a bit longer. With that much time, you can wander the battlefield and stop by the Leanach Cottage and visitor center to appreciate the artifacts, exhibits, and more.

Allow for more time if you want to enjoy lunch or a small bite to eat. The battlefield has a cozy cafe where you’ll find homemade sandwiches, hearty soups, pasties, and scones served with clotted cream and jams. It also has an award-winning gift shop where you can easily spend another hour picking up Scottish souvenirs, many locally sourced, for friends and family back home.

Yes, you can walk around Culloden Battlefield for free. That being said, it’s a difficult-to-interpret spot unless you venture inside the onsite visitor center, which does require a fee. There, you’ll get a deep dive into the history, learn how and why the battle took place, and work your imagination in their 360-degree battle immersion theatre. The visitor center also sells combination tickets that include admission into the center as well as a guided tour of the battlefield.

Technically, visiting Culloden Battlefield is free; it’s a protected outdoor area. But if you’re looking to explore the onsite visitor center (which will give you a real feel for the history), that costs anywhere from £1 to £14, depending on your age. There are also sizable discounts for families. Combination tickets, that include admission into the visitor center as well as a guided battlefield tour, cost £2 to £4 more per person. But travelers say the upcharge is well worth it.

Culloden Battlefield tours that include stops at other highly recommended area attractions like the Clava Cairns and Loch Ness start around US$85 per person. Of course, you’ll pay more if you don’t want to go on a tour with other travelers and opt for something like this Full-Day Private Tour to Urquhart Castle Loch Ness and Inverness which costs around US$125 per person. Most guided tours from Inverness include admission to the sites on the itinerary as well as door-to-door pickup and dropoff. If you’re traveling with a wheelchair, call ahead to confirm that the vehicle can accommodate it.

Culloden Battlefield was not plan A for the Jacobites—they got a late start and didn’t get as far as they had planned. As it turns out, Culloden’s open landscape gave Cumberland and his army a clear vantage point to fire their artillery. Plus, the Jacobites were greatly outnumbered. Their army was about 5,000 whereas the Redcoats, which were strong, healthier, and better trained, had nearly 10,000 soldiers. As such, the battle was a quick one. It lasted around 40 minutes. The vast majority of the lives lost at Culloden were Jacobites, although historians estimate that approximately 50 Redcoats perished, too.

Experts in Scottish history say Culloden is the burial site for nearly all the soldiers, some 1,500, who lost their lives on the battlefield. Of course, many graves have been lost (or never truly existed), so that number is questionable. The Graves of the Clans, the Memorial Cairn, and the Well of the Dead were all erected in the 18th and 19th centuries, years to decades after the battle. Some people swear that the battlefield is haunted, and on the anniversary of the battle, the ghosts rise from their graves. Other people say, it’s just a myth, and a mist.