Makeover for Flora as Inverness Castle’s £36m transformation nears completion

The famous city landmark is ready to get scrubbed up in time for the new attraction opening.

By John Ross

March 8 2025, 6:00 am

Principal project manager for the Inverness Castle project, Jason Kelman photographed with the Flora MacDonald statue. Image Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

As befits a famous resident, and a heroine to many, she is about to get the VIP treatment.

The bronze image of Flora MacDonald scanning the landscape of Inverness from a position at the castle is an iconic part of the city’s history.

And with work going on behind her to transform the castle, she is about to get her own make-over.

The cleaning of the 129-year-old statue will be one of the final pieces of the £36 million castle project to create a new world class visitor attraction.

Why is Flora looking off colour?

The new-look building, complete with interactive exhibitions, is due to open to the public in the summer.

Before then, a spruce-up of the memorial to Flora and her Border Collie, designed by Andrew Davidson, is due to start at the end of March or beginning of April.

The landmark will be shrouded in scaffolding while specialists spend 2-3 weeks carrying out repairs.

They will also remove the green discolouration on the statue caused by a combination of the weather and bird droppings.

The Flora MacDonald statue will be returned to its bronze colour Image Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

The statue will then be coated with a pigmented lacquer and several coats of wax to restore its bronze colour and provide protection for many years.

Stonemasons will also clean up the plinth on which Flora MacDonald stands.

Jason Kelman, principal project manager for the castle project, said: “The cleaning of the statue is one of the final pieces in the castle jigsaw.

“Any photographs taken of the castle always have Flora MacDonald in the foreground.

“So the statue is a vital part of the whole story of the castle and is of huge historical importance to Inverness.”

Competition to name Flora’s dog

The story of Flora MacDonald will feature in part of the exhibition telling the history of the Highlands.

The Inverness Castle Experience will shortly be announcing a Highland primary school competition to name Flora MacDonald’s canine companion.

A representation of the dog will guide young explorers through the castle experience, bringing stories to life along the way.

Work is nearing completion on the new walkway between the castle’s north and south towers. Image Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Flora was the 24-year-old woman from South Uist who took on legendary status for her role in assisting the escape of Prince Charles Edward Stuart after Culloden in 1746.

With government troops on the fugitive’s trail and a £30,000 reward on his head, Flora risked her own life accompanying him on his flight from Benbecula to Skye in an open boat.

The prince was smuggled to safety disguised as an Irish maid called Betty Burke.

That journey, inspiring the famous Skye Boat Song, helped the Young Pretender’s eventual escape from Scotland to France.

Statue unveiling drew huge crowd

Flora MacDonald and her relatives were all later arrested.

She was taken to the Tower of London, although she was subsequently released under the Indemnity Act.

After emigrating to North Carolina, she later returned to Skye. She died in 1790 and is buried in Kilmuir Cemetery.

The unveling of the Flora MacDoanld memorial. Image courtesty of Inverness Museum and Art Gallery

The statue at Inverness Castle was installed in 1896 and hundreds of people turned out to see it being unveiled.

An inscription on it reads “The preserver of Prince Charles Edward Stuart will be mentioned in history and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour.”