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A tale of Two Thimbles

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to Scotland and gave me this thimble.  I've never been to Scotland and this thimble has given me another place to add to my "what to visit in Scotland one day list".    

Although I have heard of Glencoe, I thought it was a skiing resort.  Well, it is but there is a lot more to it than that.  It is situated on the west side of Scotland, overlooking Loch Leven.  Fort William and Ben Nevis are to the North and Oban to the South. It's stunning scenery has led to it being used as the backdrop in a few movies - "The Highlander" "Rob Roy" and more recently the "Harry Potter" series.   

This thimble, also from Scotland, came in a bulk purchase of thimbles from Ebay a couple of years ago.
Old Leanach Cottage is on Culloden Moor which is near Inverness. Culloden is the location of a very famous battle from the Jacobite uprising.  The Jacobites were supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the House of Stuart.  The House of Stuart lost the British throne when James VII of Scotland & II of England was exiled to France.  The Jacobites wanted the throne returned to the Stuarts.    

The Battle of Culloden took place in April 1746 and was where Jacobites came to blows with the supporters of the reigning House of Hanover in a fierce and gory battle.  The battle raged all around the cottage and yet when the fighting was over, it was left standing.  Unfortunately, the same can't be said about the Jacobites.  They lost close to 2,000 men and the Battle of Culloden was their last stand.  

The cottage is still there and is one of the places that I have on my list of things to see in Scotland.  Along with Glencoe, Ben Nevis, Loch Ness... I think I'm going to need a bit longer than a day!

Bye for now

Olly  


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