Outlander fans have been accused of romanticising the gruesome atrocities of the Battle of Culloden – with thousands of “plastic” mementoes placed on gravestones every year.
It was the final battle in a ferocious war that divided families and set clan against clan.
But musician Davy Holt, from Inverness, said that the important memorial site – where it is believed as many 1,500 soldiers died in 1746 – is treated differently to others across the world…
Plastic trinkets are routinely left on Culloden Battlefield graves
Culloden was the last stand of a Jacobite rebellion against George II, led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie.
A TV adaptation of the fictional romance Outlander written by Diana Gabaldon uses the Jacobite uprising as a story thread within her popular books.
It has brought tourists to the battlefield as they try to find links to the story’s fictional characters.
However, the “things” that are left behind are beginning to irritate those people who visit the battlefield.
Mr Holt said: “This is becoming more and more the norm at Culloden Battlefield.
“Wee piles of stuff on many of the memorials and markers.
“The flowers I just about understand, even the wee bits of heather with rags of tartan but why the stones? It’s also not unusual to see tartan dolls and piles of coins.
“If the workers here at Culloden didn’t clear the moor up every day or two every memorial and marker would be piled high in crap.”
Memorials left due to ‘romanticised myth’
In a post on Facebook, he continued: “People don’t leave lots of crap at Arlington Cemetery, in the cemeteries of the Western Front or on the beaches of Normandy so why at Culloden?”
Kyle Macpherson agreed with Mr Holt.
He said: “Maybe because of all the romanticised myth surrounding the actual battle and its legendary cast of characters?
“I don’t know. All the crap was probably left by Outlander fans.”
One woman suggested online that the stones left on graves were there to “weigh down” the heather and other trinkets people left behind.
She continued: “It’s a shame they don’t recognise the areas for what they actually are, and not a film set.”
‘Sacred ground’
One local said Culloden Battlefield was “sacred ground” and should be respected.
A spokeswoman for the National Trust in Scotland said it wanted to make the site accessible to everyone.
In a statement, she said: “The journey or pilgrimage to Culloden Battlefield is often personal and each individual does so with their own reasons.
“Leaving a memento or token allows them to engage in a personal memory-making process and make a deeper connection with this special place.
“We respect all visitors to the battlefield and ask them to do the same.
“Items left by visitors at the graves area are closely monitored by our team on site.”
She added: “Real flowers are left until they begin to decay and then removed, however, we discourage plastic from being left, as it poses a threat to wildlife and the wider environment.”
Conversation