Nairn - Cawdor Castle

Cawdor Castle is situated almost 10mi/16km northeast of the Culloden battlefield by the B9090. It was here, according to Shakespeare, that in 1040 Macbeth, the "Thane of Cawdor", murdered Duncan but this contradicts the fact that Cawdor Castle was not built until the mid-14th to 15th century and that Duncan was murdered by Macbeth in the Battle of Elgin. The theory that the murder was committed at Glamis Castle near Dundee does not stand up to close scrutiny either. In the 16th and 17th centuries the medieval central tower (1372) was extended and altered. A large collection of Shakespearean literature and some fine period furniture such as the Venetian four-poster bed in the bedchamber form part of this fairy-tale castle that is now owned by the Campbell family. A hawthorn tree dated at 1370 acted, according to legend, as a sign to the first thane to build a castle here. In the grounds a garden with colorful flower beds is well worth a visit. There are also nature trails and a nine-hole golf course.