On Wednesday 21 April, Strathleven Artizans and some of the 40 Bowmen of St Sebastian retraced the steps of King Robert the Bruce from Renton where he died to Carrick, the place of his Birth.
The Artizans were invited down to Maidens Primary school in the heart of Bruce country and a stone’s throw from his birthplace, to tell the local kids and teachers all about the king and the connection between the place of his birth the place of his death.
We spent a few hours at the school where the kids listened to King Robert and his Queen tell of his life after leaving Carrick: of how he became King of Scots, how he lived, about Bannockburn and how he ended his days at his manor house at Pillinflatt.
All the kids listened intently and asked a lot of good questions and showed how well they knew the history of King Robert.
A big thank you goes to Head Teacher, Nan Blackley, and her staff and pupils for inviting us down and looking after us so well we all had a great time.
On the way home with help from our very good friend Jean Brittain we took the opportunity to visit Carrick Castle, the birthplace of the king, where we spent an hour or so taking in the magnificent views from the Turnberry lighthouse and having a look round the ancient ruins of Carrick Castle
Following this, Jean took us to the old kirkyard in Kirkoswald to have a look at Bruce’s Font in the old Church ruin where he was christened.
The old graveyard features many famous names from the life of Robert Burns: his parents and grandparents, Tam O’Shanter, Bonnie Jean and Souter Johnnie to name a few, as well as a number of Templar gravestones.
We certainly got noticed as we were dressed in medieval gear and a lot of drivers were tooting and blasting their horns.
A big Thank You to Jean Brittain for helping and looking after us. We all had a great day out in the ancient lands o’ the Bruce.
Hail the Bruce!
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