Moja Mała Szkocja — Przewodnik
The Witches of Moray
Where legend, history, and the Scottish landscape meet — a guide to the real places behind Scotland’s most enduring myth.
Setting the scene
The Moray of this guide is not the modern council area with its capital in Elgin. It is the historical kingdom — vast and proud — that in the age of the real Macbeth stretched from the North Sea coast deep into the Highland passes and westward to the lands around Inverness and Nairn. Ruled by its own mormaers (Gaelic lords, nearly independent of the Scottish crown), it was one of the most powerful regions in medieval Scotland.
It was on this wind-scoured, heather-dark earth that the story of Macbeth and the story of witchcraft became so entangled that a thousand years later no one has quite managed to separate them.
Macbeth & the three wise women
c. 1005
Mac Bethad mac Findláich is born. He becomes Mormaer of Moray — lord of a kingdom, not yet a villain.
1040
Macbeth defeats King Duncan near Elgin and takes the Scottish throne. Historical records suggest a capable, even fair ruler — a far cry from Shakespeare’s portrait.
1057
Malcolm Canmore returns from exile and defeats Macbeth. According to legend, the three wise women of Cluny Hill who had prophesied Duncan’s downfall are seized and put to death.
1597
King James VI publishes Daemonologie, his treatise on witchcraft. The same year Scotland sees one of its greatest witch-hunt panics.
c. 1606
Shakespeare stages Macbeth for King James I — who had personally attended witch trial interrogations. The three witches are born on stage. History gets rewritten.
Places to visit
Macbeth’s Hillock
Brodie, Forres IV36 2TD
A modest grassy mound beside the A96 between Forres and Nairn, this is the site local tradition identifies as Shakespeare’s “blasted heath” — the place where Macbeth met the three witches who foretold his destiny. Sheep graze beside it today. The silence is considerable.
The hillock sits near Brodie Castle (National Trust for Scotland), making for a natural combined visit. Glamping pods on site offer an atmospheric overnight stay.
The Witches Stone, Forres
Victoria Road, Forres — beside the police station
A granite boulder cracked into three pieces and held together by iron staples, pressed into a wall just outside the local police station. The plaque above it reads:
“From Cluny Hill witches were rolled in stout barrels through which spikes were driven. Where the barrels stopped they were burned with their mangled contents. This stone marks the site of one such burning.”
The stone is said to be one of three that once marked the graves of the wise women of Cluny Hill. A second is believed to survive in the garden of the nearby Ramnee Hotel. The third was broken up in 1802.
Cluny Hill, Forres
Grant Park, Forres
The hill from which accused witches were rolled to their deaths. Today it is a pleasant wooded park with a Victorian tower at the summit and panoramic views over the Findhorn floodplain towards the Moray Firth. The contrast between the peaceful setting and its history is — to put it gently — jarring.
In autumn the Colours of Cluny light show transforms the hill into something more welcoming. The path to the summit is well-maintained and takes about 20 minutes from the park gates.
Suggested route: Start at Macbeth’s Hillock (A96, near Brodie) → drive east to Forres → park at Grant Park → walk up Cluny Hill → descend to the Witches Stone on Victoria Road. The whole circuit, with a coffee stop, takes a comfortable half-day.
The witch trials — what actually happened
Estimated executions in Scotland
4,000–6,000
Times more than rest of Europe (per capita)
5×
Accused who were women
~75%
After the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 — which made both practising witchcraft and consulting a witch capital offences — Scotland entered one of the darkest chapters in its history. The persecution came in waves:
1590–91
The North Berwick trials — Scotland’s first major witch hunt. King James VI personally attended interrogations.
1597
The Great Scottish Witch Hunt. At least 400 accused; around 200 executed.
1628–31 & 1649–50
Two further nationwide waves of trials sweep through Scotland, including Moray.
1661–62
The worst of all — at least 660 people tried in sixteen months. Hundreds executed.
1736
The Witchcraft Act is finally repealed. The prosecutions end.
A note worth keeping: Cluny Hill in Forres was not a place of ceremony or ritual. It was a place of execution. The women killed here had names, families, and neighbours. That distinction matters — and it is one that tends to get lost in the comfortable language of heritage tourism.
Practical tips
Best time to visit
Accessible year-round. Autumn (Oct–Nov) is particularly atmospheric — especially if the Colours of Cluny light show is running in Grant Park.
Getting there
Forres is on the A96 between Inverness and Elgin, about 25 miles east of Inverness. Macbeth’s Hillock is approx. 4 miles west of Forres, visible from the road.
☕ While in Forres
The town has several good cafés. The Old Mill Inn near Brodie Castle is recommended for lunch. The Falconer Museum has a Macbeth exhibition.
Further reading
Cameron Taylor’s On the Trail of the Real Macbeth is the best starting point for separating the historical figure from Shakespeare’s invention.
Staying over
Macbeth’s Hillock offers glamping pods directly on site — atmospheric, well-reviewed, and perfect for an early morning visit before the tourists arrive.
Nearby
Brodie Castle (NTS) is 5 min from the Hillock. Pluscarden Abbey and Elgin Cathedral are both within 20 min and well worth adding to the day.
Have you visited Forres, or stood on Macbeth’s Hillock? I would love to know what those places stirred in you — leave a comment below.
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