From Girvan the A714 runs south through the Stinchar valley and over the moor to Bargrennan, where a minor road turns into Glen Trool — the heart of Galloway Forest Park and, on a still day, one of the most beautiful places in southern Scotland. Loch Trool lies in a steep wooded glen with the Galloway hills rising behind it, and above the northern shore stands a rough granite boulder.
The battle
In March 1307 Robert the Bruce was a fugitive with a few hundred men, newly returned from hiding and with almost everything still to lose. An English force under Aymar de Valence came up the narrow path along the southern shore of the loch to find him.
Bruce put his men on the slope above and let them come. When the column was strung out on the path with the loch on one side and the hillside on the other, his men rolled boulders down onto them. The English broke. It was a small action by any military standard, but it was Bruce's first victory of the campaign, and it began the run that ended seven years later at Bannockburn.
The memorial stone was raised in 1929 on the six-hundredth anniversary of his death, and the view from it down the length of the loch is the best in the forest park.
Walks from the stone
- The Loch Trool circuit — about 5.5 miles and three hours, through oak woods, across the Gairland Burn, along the southern shore past the battle site itself and back by the Buchan Burn. Moderate, with some rough and rocky ground. The classic walk here.
- The Merrick — at 843 metres the highest hill in southern Scotland, climbed from Bruce's Stone by the Buchan Burn and the Neive of the Spit. Around eight miles and five to six hours, strenuous, and a proper mountain day needing map, compass and full kit. See the Merrick.
- Shorter options run from the Glentrool visitor centre lower down the glen.
Practical notes
About 26 miles and 45 minutes from Girvan. There is a pay-and-display car park at Bruce's Stone, reached by a narrow single-track road with passing places, and parking plus a café and toilets at the Glentrool visitor centre further down. The stone itself is a two-minute walk from the upper car park, so this works even if you are not walking far.
Take food — options in the glen are limited and seasonal. Midges can be serious on still summer evenings. And the glen sits inside the Dark Sky Park: stay until dark on a clear moonless night and the Milky Way is plainly visible overhead. See stargazing and the Galloway forest loop day trip.
