Description:

'Bannockburn'. A name that still, after so many years, stirs the Scottish heart and the Battle of Bannockburn Experience puts you at the centre of the action with cutting-edge 3D technology.

By 1314 just two major fortresses remained under English control; Berwick and Stirling Castle. Under siege by the Scots, the garrison at Stirling had agreed to surrender to Bruce if no relief came by midsummer.

Intent on the relieving the castle, King Edward II left Berwick in May with an army estimated at 13,000 strong.

Bruce had chosen his ground carefully, deploying his troops in the woods that straddled the major road from Falkirk, close to a ford that crossed the Bannock Burn (or stream) which led on to nearby Stirling. The Scottish defences included some cleverly constructed ‘surprises’ for the English cavalry.

Early the following morning Edward made the fatal decision to cross the river and was surprised to see the Scottish army move from the cover of the woods to meet them. The massive English army trundled slowly into position as the entire Scottish force descended upon their disorganised ranks. Edwards’s army were too tightly packed to offer any meaningful defence and slowly the English formations began to crumble.

Recognising the inevitable, Edward fled the field along with his bodyguard, and as the panic spread through the English ranks, defeat turned into a rout.