Ruthven Barracks Traditional Cache
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A quick cache and dash on the A9, The cache is easily
accessible when traveling South but care should be taken if
traveling North. I recommend you try the cache at night, the
view of the Barracke lit up is really worth seeing.
The impressive mound on which Ruthven Barracks stands is said to be
a natural leftover of the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the
last ice age. Its regularity suggests that man has taken a hand as
well. The mound overlooks the site of an ancient ford and ferry
between it and today's Kingussie. This was one of the few crossing
places of the middle reaches of the River Spey before it was
bridged near Newtonmore in 1808, and it lies at an important
junction of the routes through the Cairngorms.
The first recorded castle to be built here was in 1229. By 1371 it
formed the centre of activity of Alexander Stewart, Lord of
Badenoch, and younger son of Robert II. More popularly knows as the
Wolf of Badenoch. The Stewart is mainly remembered for
falling out with the Bishop of Elgin and being excommunicated by
him for marital infidelity. In retaliation he destroyed Elgin
Cathedral, and much of Elgin in 1390.
This first castle was destroyed in 1451, but rebuilt by 1459 as a
much grander fortification. It was fought over during the Civil
Wars, then badly damaged by Bonnie Dundee and the Jacobites during
the first uprising in 1689.
After the 1715 Jacobite uprising, the Government decided to tighten
its grip on the Highlands by building four fortified barracks in
strategic locations. Ruthven Barracks was one of them, and all
remains of the earlier castle were removed to make way for the
structure you see today. The barracks took much longer to build
than planned, and was finally completed in 1721.
The barracks was designed to house 120 troops, split between the
two barrack blocks. Officers lived separately. The stables,
standing slightly to the west of the rest of the barracks, were
built in 1734 to house 28 horses for dragoons. By this time its
strategic importance had been enhanced by the building of military
roads from Perth, Fort Augustus and Inverness that came together
here.
In August 1745 some 200 Jacobites tried to capture Ruthven
Barracks. A force of just 12 redcoats, commanded by a Sergeant
Molloy, fought them off with the loss of just one man. By February
1746 Sergeant Molloy had been promoted to Lieutenant, and was still
in command when a larger force of Jacobites arrived, this time
equipped with artillery. The garrison surrendered.
History had one more, final, role in store for Ruthven Barracks. On
the day after the Battle of Culloden as many as 3000 Jacobites
assembled at here with the intention of fighting on. Awaiting them
was a message from Bonnie Prince Charlie saying that each man
should save himself the best he could.
The Jacobites set fire to the barracks, and dispersed to try to
evade a Government now set on finally suppressing the Jacobites,
and the Highlands, once and for all.
It is well worth taking some time to visit the Barracks.
What visitors to Ruthven Barracks see today is pretty much
what was left by the departing Jacobites on 17 April 1746. Most of
the exterior walls remain, but little of the interior structure,
and no flooring or roofing. But come here on a quiet day and you
can have Ruthven Barracks entirely to yourself. The distant traffic
on the A9 barely intrudes, and it takes very little effort to
transport yourself back 250 years to the days when history was
being made here.
And, if it's really quiet, and getting dark, watch out for ghostly
chess-players. It is said that one evening in 1394 a visitor
dressed all in black arrived at Ruthven Castle and challenged the
Wolf of Badenoch to a game of chess. By morning, no-one was left
alive in the castle: for such are the perils of playing chess with
the Devil.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur wbva bs gur oneevre
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