Jacobites rebel as they are kicked off Culloden Battlefield near Inverness
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A COUPLE who have been bringing history to life for tourists at the Culloden battlefield for the past decade have been left "raging" after being forced to leave the site on health and safety grounds.
Ed and Sandy Hastings had been regular attenders at the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) site, where they posed for photos by the Old Leanach Cottage and answered visitors’ questions about the battle and Scottish history and customs.
Although not an official part of the NTS experience, the couple – who wear replica costumes created by former seamstress Sandy – say they have had a verbal agreement with management to attend and interact with visitors, and that they always felt very welcome before the incident.
Explaining what happened, former postman Ed said: "We were just doing our normal thing in front of about 20 tourists when this woman we had never seen before came walking out of the centre and approached my wife.
"She was quite aggressive in her approach, asking Sandy whether we had written permission to be there and then telling us we had to leave immediately.
"It was quite strange and very awkward in front of all those tourists."
Sandy added: "If she had come out and said she needed to have a private word with us inside and then told us we couldn’t be there we wouldn’t have been nearly as upset.
"I was just stunned to be honest and now, even two weeks after it happened, I’m still raging whenever I think about it. It all seems to be down to health and safety concerns about the replica weapons – which is strange given that when we attended the pipe band championships in Forres a while back we were asked by NTS staff there to pose for a picture at their stand. The fact that we had weapons didn’t seem to be a problem then."
The couple are originally from Canada but moved to Scotland after Ed discovered his own Caledonian roots.
Now retired, they devote most of their free time to travelling to historic sites and taking part in reenactments across the country.
According to Ed they have never had problems like this anywhere else and add an important element to the visitor offering.
"We are like a free information service for the tourist industry," he said. "We don’t take a penny for the things we do and, as we’re talking to people, we’re always advising them of where they should go next or where they can buy things – including items on sale in the NTS shop."
A spokeswoman for the NTS confirmed it was the presence of the replica weapons that were the main issue.
"Culloden is a very popular site for visitors and we appreciate the passion that it inspires amongst history enthusiasts," she said.
"As the owners and operators of this important site, the trust takes the safety and enjoyment of visitors seriously.
"Third parties bringing replica weapons on-site causes a particular problem, because we cannot be confident that they have the appropriate training or insurance in place."
Asked whether they would consider appealing to NTS over their expulsion, Sandy said: "We really don’t know. You know, if you were at somebody’s house and they treated you like that, you just wouldn’t want to go back. This feels much the same."
The story has divided opinion on social media.
David Wilkie said: "Safety was not an issue, visitors have common sense, it’s simply the trust wanting to control," while Amanda Currie said NTS could be "very snooty" at times.
However, Deborah Dennison said: "The problem is some of these re-enactor groups don’t get the history right and visitors don’t know who’s who. If the NTS allows anyone in a costume with a weapon on the field to stand and offer information to visitors, there may be some giving out completely wrong information."
Meanwhile NTS confirmed that the annual commemoration of the battle will take place at the site next April.
Set to include hundreds of weapon-wielding Jacobites it said it was working with event organisers on the detail of arrangements.
