BANNOCKBURN - ROUND TWO!
Pic: Robert
the Bruce and Edward II
One of Scotland's greatest
victories, the Battle of Bannockburn, will be re-enacted this month
and as Lorraine Wakefield discovered everyone is invited to help
replay this finest hour.
Scots everywhere prepare for battle! Arm yourselves with swords, axes, spears and shields - in fact anything that comes to hand! Don your armour and prepare for battle against the Auld Enemy!
Prepare to relive Scotland's finest moment when Robert the Bruce led his army to victory over England and the oppressive Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and help make it one nil for the home side.
There will be riot, rebellion and rammy when the biggest ever battle re-enactment hosted by the National Trust for Scotland is held at the Bannockburn Heritage Centre near Stirling over the weekend of 31 August & 1 September 2002.
The Battle of Bannockburn lasted two days and despite being vastly outnumbered by the opposing forces heading to relieve the garrison at Stirling Castle the Scots won a decisive victory in the Wars of Independence ending years of English domination.
Now Scots are being invited to help cut down the hapless English knights once more at the Bannockburn re-enactment with the emphasis this time around being very much on fun and family participation.
The early battlecries were made when Robert the Bruce and Edward II met at Bannockburn earlier this summer to lay the plans for the battle and only the intervention of bodyguards from the Scottish Claymores American Football team stopped blood being spilled.
As with the original battle the combatants for the modern day Bannockburn have been preparing their battle plans for months and as many as 150 combatants and several hundred followers from all over the UK will converge at the site to do battle.
Although there were many more fighters involved in the original battle it is hoped the armies numbers will be greatly boosted by members of the public willing to get involved and fight the good fight for fun.
"We have been canvassing across the UK for people to take part and we are expecting at least 150 combatants and several hundred camp followers to come along on the weekend," explained Simon Walton of the National Trust for Scotland.
"They will be taking part in armed combat or all the auxiliary things like archery, falconry, mediaeval cooking and if you want to you can even sleep mediaeval.
Pic: Preparing for battle
"There
will be lots of things to do for the kids like archery and falconry
but they will not be allowed sharp instruments although blunt ones
will do nicely in battle!
"Basically there will be something for everyone, the whole family, over the two days and stand and imagine themselves in Scotland's greatest victory.
"The emphasis is for people to come along and get involved and that is also part of the attraction for those who do the re-enactment, whether as a professional re-enactor or as a hobby, to get more people involved."
There were 20,000 combatants in the Battle of Bannockburn and although the organisers of the re-enactment are not expecting quite as many to turn up this time around they are hoping for as many as 6,000 people to take part over the weekend.
The 60 acres site of the heritage centre also only covers a fraction of the entire Bannockburn battlefield, which has been consumed by modern development and housing but it will still be the biggest ever re-enactment of the battle.
"The battle itself took place over a much larger area," continued Simon. "We have 60 acres but not the whole battlefield as unfortunately modern day Stirling and Bannockburn has built up on the site.
"It is the biggest ever re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn. There have been small scale events in the past and we have often had costumed guides and actors at the centre explaining the history and heritage of Bannockburn.
"But we have never had anything on this scale before and if it is a success it will become an annual event and one of the biggest re-enactment events in Scotland," he added.
Throughout the two days of the battle there will be hand on hand fighting, archery, falconry, cooking, tents and camps, crafts and all sorts of other activities most of which will be hands on for visitors to try out.
The cavalry will also be there to support the armies and knights on horseback will challenge each other in the very skilled combat of jousting which is sure to lead to plenty of thrills and spills.
If you want to join all the gore and excitement of a mediaeval battle without any of the danger and lots of fun then Bannockburn is the place to be later this month!
Advance tickets for the Battle of Bannockburn re-enactment are on sale from the Albert Halls box office, Dumbarton Road, Stirling (01786 443322) priced £5 for adults, £3.50 concessions and NTS members and £13 for a family ticket (two adults and up to four children).
Tickets will also be on sale at the gate on the 31 August & 1 September and the Bannockburn Heritage Centre will be open 10am - 6pm with the re-enactment taking place from 11am - 5pm. More information is available on the website www.nts.org.uk
(15/8/2002)
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