The head of Loch Shiel, where Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard on 19 August 1745.
The gathering
Charles Edward Stuart reached Glenfinnan in August 1745 expecting Highland support for an attempt to restore his father to the British thrones. Clansmen arrived through the day, and on 19 August the standard was raised. The gathering turned a risky landing into an armed rising.
The monument came later
The tower at the loch was erected in 1815, seventy years after the standard was raised. The lone Highlander at its summit commemorates those who fought for the Jacobite cause; it is a nineteenth-century memorial in the event's landscape, not a surviving structure from 1745.
Two famous landscapes
The nearby railway viaduct now draws many visitors through its screen associations, but the Jacobite gathering and the viaduct belong to different periods. StoryScotland treats the monument, loch and clan gathering as the historical core while acknowledging the modern journey visitors are likely to make.
What to look for while you're here
- The view along Loch Shiel from the monument grounds.
- The lone Highlander figure at the top of the 1815 tower.
- The relationship between the gathering place, modern memorial and surrounding routes into the glens.
Before you go
- Parking is extremely limited; bus or train is strongly recommended.
- The monument climb operates set hours and uses a narrow spiral stair and hatch.
- The grounds are open daily, but visitor facilities have separate hours.