A weekend of events to mark the anniversary of one of Scotland’s bloodiest battles kicked off with a dramatic procession through Pitlochry.
The skirmish which sparked the 1689 Battle of Killiecrankie was re-created on the streets of the Highland Perthshire town on Friday evening.
Main Street was closed to traffic to make way for an authentic retelling of a key clash which led to the famous 1689 fight.
The procession, which climaxed with the firing of a musket, was put together by the community-led Soldiers of Killiecrankie re-enactment group.
The team has this year scored a £10,000 boost from the Big Lottery Awards for All scheme to help pay for 17th century style uniforms and equipment.
The festivities get underway properly on Saturday morning at the battlefield site. A packed two-day agenda includes reenactments, tours, performances and a large living history camp.
Artefacts found during a sweep of the area, as part of the preparations for the Scottish Government’s A9 dualling programme, will also be revealed.
The battle of Killiecrankie saw Jacobite forces, under the command of First Viscount of Dundee John Graham, take on the might of the Government army with General Hugh Mackay at the helm.
Both armies were attempting to reach Blair Atholl and use it as a base for future operations.
The Jacobites took position on higher ground, on the southern slopes of Creag Eallaich, while government troops were deployed to the base of the hill.
Throughout the afternoon and in the evening, both sides sniped and skirmished. At around 8pm, the Jacobites charged downhill and broke government lines.
It was during this charge that Dundee was killed. One government solider, Donald McBane, made a spectacular escape, leaping about 18ft across the fast-flowing River Garry. He later wrote that “many of our men were lost in the water.”
That day, around 800 Jacobites and 2,000 government soldiers were slaughtered.
The battle remains important for several reasons. It is the first recorded use of a grenade in UK (fragments of a crude handheld explosive were found during shooting of the TV show Two Men in a Trench in 2003.
Historians believe Killiecrankie also saw the first use of platoon firing in Britain.
Admission to the festival is £6 for adults, £5 concessions and £3 for children under 16.
