WATCH: Caithness adventurers go in search of lost Culloden gold
A forthcoming documentary by Wick-born historian and TV presenter Ashley Cowie follows a team of local adventurers as they go in search of lost treasure from the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Highland Gold was filmed on location in north Sutherland and tells the dramatic story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s ill-fated ship The Hazard, later renamed Le Prince Charles.
Ashley said: "Five chests of gold coins were hidden in her hull when she left France but she was intercepted and chased north by the British frigate HMS Sheerness which ran the Jacobite treasure ship ashore on March 25, 1746 in the Kyle of Tongue."
The Mackay’s of Tongue were loyal to King George and a Mackay militia chased the rogue crew of French Jacobite sailors southwards towards Culloden, with their five chests of gold coins destined for the Bonnie Prince in Inverness to pay his army of Highlanders.
"However, historical records say that the sailors were intercepted and in a panic hastily buried their five chests of gold coins around a remote Highland lochan – the name of which is currently undisclosed. But not all of the coins were accounted for," said Ashley.
In the early 19th century a Sutherland farmer reported discovering "a gold coin wedged in a cow’s hoof" when it was leaving a loch, and following this bizarre clue Ashley assembled a team of Highland treasure hunters – including Caithness metal detectorists, a Thurso businessmen, a historian and a diver – to search for the lost Jacobite treasure.
Scott Youngson and Hugh Mackay join diver and explorer Kenny Orbell and historian Iain Maclean from Caithness Broch Project as they search for the lost gold with Ashley and Colombian filmmaker Natalia Reyes Escobar. The film was produced and directed by Ashley and Natalia.
"While the team set out to find Jacobite artifacts and lost gold coins, they ended up unearthing something infinitely more valuable to the cultural history of Scotland, a 5000-year-old Neolithic treasure, " said Ashley.
"Treasure hunting in the remote Highlands with a team of pro-divers and metal detectorists – what more could you ask for in an adventure film?" he added.
Ashley’s films are free to watch, ad-free and available on his website (ashleycowie.com) and YouTube channel.
For anyone interested in sponsoring Highland Gold there are various media packages available and more details can be found by emailing Ashley at ashley@ashleycowie.com
The documentary will premiere on April 16, which marks the 275th anniversary of The Battle of Culloden, and can be viewed for free at ashleycowie.com/blog/highland-gold
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