The Glenfinnan Monument: A Memorial to the Forty-Five
Standing at the head of Loch Shiel, where the waters of the loch stretch south-west for 28 kilometres between steep mountains, the Glenfinnan Monument is one of the most evocative memorials in Scotland. Built in 1815, seventy years after the events it commemorates, it marks the spot where a Stuart prince raised his standard and changed the course of Highland history — at enormous cost to those who followed him.
The 1745 Context
On 19 August 1745, Charles Edward Stuart arrived at Glenfinnan with a small retinue, having spent weeks gathering support and waiting to see if the Highland chiefs would commit to his cause. The moment was uncertain: Charles had come without the French army that had been promised, with limited arms, and with only a fraction of the support he needed.
What saved the moment was the arrival of Cameron of Lochiel with approximately 700 Cameron and MacDonald clansmen. Other groups followed. With perhaps 1,200–1,500 men assembled on the hillside above Loch Shiel, the ceremony of the standard-raising took place.
The Duke of Atholl — William Murray, the Marquis of Tullibardine, the older brother who had lost his title in the 1715 Rising but now served the Jacobite cause — raised the royal standard of the House of Stuart. Charles was proclaimed Prince Regent on behalf of his father James III and VIII. The Rising had begun.
The assembled Highlanders would march east, take Edinburgh, win a stunning victory at Prestonpans, advance to Derby, retreat, fight at Falkirk, and finally be destroyed at Culloden. Most of the men who cheered the standard at Glenfinnan would not return.
The Monument
Commission and Construction
Seventy years after these events, Alexander MacDonald of Glenaladale decided to build a monument. The MacDonalds of Glenaladale had been deeply involved in the 1745 Rising — the family had sheltered Charles during his flight after Culloden and helped organise his escape — and Alexander MacDonald felt a personal obligation to the memory of those who had suffered.
He commissioned the monument from James Gillespie Graham (1776–1855), a Scottish architect known for his Gothic Revival work. Gillespie Graham designed an appropriate structure: a tall, round tower (approximately 18 metres high) built of stone, standing on a square base. The top of the tower is crowned with a viewing platform and battlements.
The monument was completed in 1815. Alexander MacDonald of Glenaladale died the same year.
The Figure on Top
The figure surmounting the monument is one of the most frequently misidentified in Scotland. It is routinely described as Bonnie Prince Charlie — but this is wrong. The figure is an anonymous Highland soldier — a generalised representation of the clansmen who fought and died in the rising. This was a deliberate artistic and memorial choice: the monument is dedicated to all the men who followed the standard, not specifically to the prince himself.
The figure stands facing down the length of Loch Shiel, as if surveying the land the Jacobites marched through and died for.
The Inscription
The base of the monument bears inscriptions in three languages — Latin, English, and Scottish Gaelic — recording the purpose of the memorial. The English inscription reads in effect that the monument was erected to the memory of the men who fell in the cause of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 1745–6.
The National Trust for Scotland
The Glenfinnan Monument and the surrounding area are managed by the National Trust for Scotland. The site includes:
- The monument itself (tower climbable seasonally with admission fee)
- The NTS Visitor Centre, which houses an excellent exhibition on the 1745 Rising
- Café and toilets
- Shop with NTS and Jacobite-related books, gifts, and merchandise
- A car park (small fee)
The visitor centre exhibition is well designed and informative, covering the causes of the rising, the key figures, the campaign, and the aftermath. It is a good place to begin or end a visit to Glenfinnan.
Visiting the Monument
Getting there: Glenfinnan is 17 miles west of Fort William on the A830. The car park is on the north side of the road, just before the village. Overflow parking along the road is available but limited.
By train: The Jacobite Steam Train stops at Glenfinnan station, a short walk from the monument. Many visitors ride the train to Glenfinnan, visit the monument and viaduct viewpoint, then catch the return service.
Timing: The monument and visitor centre are open seasonally. The car park and outdoor areas are accessible year-round. Visiting in September or October — after the peak summer crowds have dispersed — allows you to appreciate the monument in relative peace, with the autumn colours adding to the atmosphere.
Loch Shiel view: The view from the monument down the length of Loch Shiel — especially at dawn or dusk in clear conditions — is one of the most beautiful in Scotland. The combination of still water, steep mountain walls, and the monument's reflection in the loch (on calm days) creates an image that has become iconic.
The Monument and the Jacobite Steam Train
Visitors who ride the Jacobite Steam Train can see the monument from the train window as the service crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Look to the right (north) as the train crosses the viaduct westbound: the monument stands at the head of the loch, approximately 0.5 miles from the viaduct. It is visible between the viaduct arches and beyond, a small stone tower against the mountain backdrop.
Those watching the train from the upper hillside viewpoint — the classic Glenfinnan vantage point — can see both the viaduct with the train crossing and the monument at the head of the loch in the same composition. This combination — the 1901 railway viaduct and the 1815 Jacobite monument in a single Highland panorama — is the defining image of Glenfinnan.