Dumfries Caerlaverock Castle Kirkpatrick Fleming Annan The Robert the Bruce Trail Ericstane Clatteringshaws Key: trail locations trail route principal trail towns Western Trail Central Trail Eastern Trail Annan Wanlockhead Sanquhar Thornhill Lochmaben Dalswinton Tibbers Hightae B725 Creetown Kirkcudbright Buittle Sweetheart Abbey Loch Ryan Glenluce Whithorn Glentrool A710 Creebridge A75 A75 A755 B797 B7040 (M) A75 B7020 B7020 B724 A75 A701 A76 A714 Castle Douglas T H R E E T RA IL S. .. O N E TA L E There are many places in Dumfries and Galloway associated with Robert the Bruce and his story.You can visit these locations individually, but if you wish to follow the Trail, it has been divided into three regions to make travelling more manageable. These are the Eastern Trail, Central Trail and Western Trail. THE EASTERN TRAIL is about 120 miles with 3.5 hrs driving - it takes in a number of attractive towns and villages. Caerlaverock Castle is one of Scotland’s great medieval fortresses. In 1300, King Edward I of England launched an invasion into Galloway and besieged the castle. It remained in English hands until 1312, when it fell to King Robert the Bruce, who ordered its demolition. Today, with its moat, twin towered gatehouse and imposing battlements, Caerlaverock Castle is the epitome of the medieval stronghold. Annan’s 12th century castle was the base of the Norman de Brus family, who rose in power and influence as generations went by. It was strategically placed on the River Annan, but flooding damaged the foundations, and the site was abandoned for Lochmaben. Built as a motte and bailey castle, it is the oldest man-made formation still standing in Annan, although only earthworks remain. The story of Bruce and the spider was created by Sir Walter Scott and based on the fact that Bruce was a fugitive from 1306 to 1307. The cave here has a popular local association with the story, and is carved out of a red sandstone cfiff, about 30 feet above the Kirtle Water. Until 1927 it could only be reached by a rope from the overhang, but the council built the present path so that the cave could be visited safely. The area around Hightae was granted to the Brus family in 1124, and it is one of the Royal Four Towns of Lochmaben ~ Greenhill, Heck, Hightae and Smallholm ~ founded by Bruce to provide garrisons and food supplies for Lochmaben Castle. The rights granted to the tenants passed down through a small group of families to the present time, producing a proud community with a unique history. In medieval times, forest and marsh forced travellers from England up through Annandale towards Lochmaben, and it was a key point of conflict between England and Scotland. The Bruces built a motte and bailey castle which survives today as part of the golf course. The later castle built at Castle Loch was begun by Edward I of England c. 1300. In February 1306, Bruce rode north for Glasgow, having killed John Comyn at Greyfriars Monastery, Dumfries. His party halted here at the Devil’s Beeftub, where the Annan rises, and was met by a small riding party led by the young James Douglas, carrying a message of support from the Bishop of St. Andrews. Douglas pledged his loyalty to the would-be king, a promise he kept all his life. This village is the highest in Scotland, and its mines produced lead for making weapons. Gold and silver were mined for minting coins and for making the Scottish crown and regalia. Other local resources were King Robert’s ‘palfreys’: small, agile ponies ideal for battle in the Scottish landscape. Today, the Museum of Scottish Leadmining here is a major visitor attraction. Sanquhar Castle was captured by William Wallace during his uprising of 1297. The Castle had links with Robert the Bruce but most of what survives is from the 1400s. The Castle ruins are privately- owned and not open to the public, but may be viewed from the Southern Upland Way, which passes them. Only earthworks and some stone walling remains of Tibbers Castle. Early in 1306, Tibbers was garrisoned by English troops, but captured by the Scots soon after John Comyn’s death at the hands of Robert Bruce. Today the site is owned by the Duke of Buccleuch. On 10 February 1306 John Comyn set out from Dalswinton Castle to meet Robert Bruce at Greyfriars Monastery, Dumfries. A few hours later, Comyn lay dead and Bruce seized Dumfries Castle. The present Dalswinton House stands on the site of Comyn’s medieval castle. It is a private home, not open to the public. T H E EA ST E RN TR A IL T H E CE N TR A L T RA I L T H E WE ST E R N T RA I L THE CENTRAL TRAIL is about 115 miles with 3hrs driving ~ it takes in the fabulous coastline of Dumfries and Galloway. Sweetheart Abbey is the heart of the tiny community of New Abbey, and was built for Lady Devorgilla of Galloway, to commemorate her late husband John Balliol. She had his heart embalmed and kept it in a casket ~ her “sweet, silent, companion”. Their son John became King of Scots in 1292. The abbey, initially called New Abbey, was renamed by the monks in her memory Dulce Cor ~ Sweetheart Abbey. The remains of this once-important castle consist today of a large, grass-covered motte built by Allan, Lord of Galloway. When Robert the Bruce seized the throne in 1306, his brother Edward Bruce beseiged the castle which fell in February 1313. Robert took the surrender and Buittle Castle was subsequently razed to the ground. In 1325 the lands of Buittle were given by King Robert I to Sir James Douglas. but the motte is now owned by Balliol College, Oxford. Kirkcudbright Castle was built by King Alexander III in 1264, occupying an almost impregnable position on a tidal inlet of the sea. When Edward I of England invaded Galloway in 1300 he stayed here for ten days, accompanied by 7500 men and 60 ships, the biggest fleet ever seen in Scotland. The castle was probably demolished by King Robert 1 after his victory over the English at Bannockburn in 1314. The flat estuary here is the site of an indecisive battle between Edward 1 and Scottish forces led by Edward, Earl of Buchan. On seeing the English army bearing down on them, the Scots cavalry fled for the hills, but the English were ill~prepared to make pursuit over this terrain, so most Scots escaped. The River Cree was the limit of Edward’s 1300 invasion and, starved of funds, he returned home. In March 1307 King Robert hid out in the hills around Moss Raploch and Glentrool. An English army camped here was set upon by the Scots at dawn and, as the Scots picked over the dead for weapons and booty, the king rested against a large stone, now known as the Bruce Stone. The battle site itself is now submerged by the reservoir., but the stone can be visited in Galloway Forest Park. Castle Douglas was the scene of a massacre in 1308 when Sir James Douglas raided the south west. The town was under the English command of Robert Clifford. Douglas killed most defenders and destroyed the fortifications. The nearby castle at Threave was attacked by Edward Bruce in the same year..The present Threave Castle was built by Douglas’ son,Archibald the Grim. THE WESTERN TRAIL is about 100 miles with 3hrs driving ~ it takes in the quiet yet beautiful western coast Now part of Galloway Forest Park, Glentrool is the scene of King Robert’s first significant victory over the English: in April 1307, he hid in these hills with no more than around 300 men, waiting for the chance to pounce on his prey. At Glentrool he lured the Earl of Pembroke and 1,500 heavy English cavalry along the narrow track on the south side of Loch Trool, bombarded them with rocks and debris, then fell on them as they scattered. In 1328 Bruce had secured independence from England, but he was a dying man. At the age of 54, his body was wracked with a skin disease, possibly leprosy, after a lifetime of harsh living. In April 1329, he made a last pilgrimage from his home at Cardross to Whithorn to pray at St Ninian’s Shrine. He was a pious man and prayed for forgiveness for the murder of John Comyn, and for the suffering and death of his loved ones. The award-winning Whithorn Story tells the story of Whithorn’s early Christian past, the churches on the site and the archaeology discovered there during the last century. Glenluce Abbey was founded around 1192. The Cistercian monks here probably came from Dundrennan Abbey, near Kirkcudbright. They brought with them an austere way of life, but also the splendour of their architecture. Glenluce Abbey came into State care in 1933, and during clearance of the rubble, many artefacts were discovered, now on display in the visitor centre. When King Robert made his final journey to Whithorn, he travelled down the coast, resting at several places along the way including Glenluce Abbey. When Bruce returned to the mainland to start his campaign, its landscape provided shelter and hiding places, and access to the sea was crucial in supplying men, ships and support for his cause. In February 1307 King Robert’s brothers, Thomas and Alexander, landed on the shores of Loch Ryan to attack the English supply route from Carlisle, but they were betrayed, and fell into the hands of the Macdowalls, Bruce’s enemy in Galloway.