Scotland remains one of the best tourist destinations in the world. Scotland’s stunning landscapes are a heady mix of majestic mountains, wild forests, and pristine beaches.
And the tumultuous stories of Scotland are real, real episodes of Game of Thrones.
No visit to Scotland would be complete without immersing yourself in its fascinating history – and what better way to do that than on the country’s most famous battlefields. In an era when Scotland is reasserting its statehood, tracing the country’s battle history – from Stirling Bridge in 1297 to the Battle of Culloden in 1746 – shows just how hard-won that identity has been.
Stirling Bridge, 1297
Fans of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart know Stirling as the first major victory of the rebellious Scottish landowner William Wallace over the troops of Edward “Longshanks” I of England. But perhaps you didn’t know that Wallace was a general along with Andrew Murray (no, not that one!). Murray or Moray was the head of a powerful Scottish family that had raised the flag of rebellion the previous year.
The victory at Stirling was probably more Murray’s than Wallace’s, but he did not have time to enjoy it, having been mortally wounded and dying shortly afterward.
Murray is not mentioned in Braveheart, but this is not the film’s funniest omission.
The masterstroke that brought the Scots victory at Stirling was a tactic that consisted of waiting for the vanguard of the English army to cross a narrow wooden bridge, then charging forward, trapping them and cutting them to pieces. The English commander ordered the bridge to be destroyed and condemned half of his army to oblivion.
The best place to view the landscape around Stirling is to climb the Wallace Monument, a 19th-century tower commemorating the Keeper of Scotland, a title also held by Murray, who has passed away.
In recent years, history buffs have been advocating for wider recognition of Andrew Murray, and a new monument is currently under construction in Stirling. When completed, this monument will depict Wallace and Murray standing beside each other in victory. Most of the battlefield is now under modern-day Stirling.
Falkirk, 1298
After a year of offensive warfare against an increasingly large English army, the Scots survived. Wallace wanted to conduct a night raid, but he was refused – the battle had to take place in the open, in daylight. Wallace chose a defensive position and set up his pikemen, archers, and knights.
The English mounted knights attacked, pushing the Scottish horses back, but failing to break through the four huge shields of foot soldiers.
In the movie Braveheart, the Scots lose because some of their nobles (including Robert the Bruce himself) betray Wallace. The truth turns out to be more prosaic: isolated and unable to run, the Shiltrons were pounded by English arrows until they fell to pieces.
Wallace fled, resigned his position as Keeper of Scotland, and virtually disappeared from the historical record until his capture in 1305. After his trial in August, he was executed (according to contemporary accounts, he was dragged naked behind a horse and then hanged, lured, and quartered) in a manner that looks very restrained in the film.
Bannockburn, 1314
After Wallace’s defeat at Falkirk, the title of Guardian of Scotland passed to Robert the Bruce, who was crowned King of the Scots in 1306.
Despite (or because of) this demonstration of national solidarity, the English continued to insist on their dominance. Robert turned to guerrilla tactics, biding his time until the conditions were right to meet the English face to face.
In June 1314, the English garrison in Stirling announced that it would surrender to the Scots if it did not receive reinforcements by the 24th of the month. Edward II sent 13,000 soldiers marching north, and Bruce’s army met them at Bannockburn, a winding waterway that proved disastrous for Edward. His shiltrons learned from Falkirk.
Killiecranks, 1689
Until the 17th century, England and Scotland were ruled by one king. In 1685, Charles II of England was succeeded by James II, a Roman Catholic.
The new Catholic dynasty on the throne of England and Scotland seemed uncontested, which angered the Protestant population, so they called on William of Orange (Netherlands), the husband of James’ daughter Mary, to cross the English Channel and take the throne. By 1689, this “Glorious Revolution” had taken place, but for many of James’s supporters, the battle was far from over.
At the head of the Jacobites in Scotland (“Jacob” is the Latin name for James) was the Viscount of Dundee, John Graham of Claverhouse. He gathered a detachment of 2,400 men, including 240 Cameron Highlanders, and engaged in battle with the government troops of General Hugh Mackay north of the steep wooded gorge of Killiecranky.
Glencoe, 1692
A bloody past but a promising tourist future. The events of February 13, 1692 – not so much a battle as a massacre – are among the most notorious in Scottish history.
After the defeat of the Jacobites, William demanded oaths of allegiance from the Scottish clans, ordering them to report to the magistrate by January 1, 1692.
Due to bad weather and treachery, Alasdair MacLean of the MacDonald clan of Glen Coe was almost a week late in signing. His enemies, including John Dalrymple, Secretary of State for Scotland, and senior members of the Campbell clan, plotted to destroy him.
Culloden, 1746
The events in Glen Coe remained in the memory of the Scots for a long time, and by 1745 they had found a defender of their anti-British dissent: Charles Edward Stuart, better known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”.
After an unsuccessful attempt to capture and hold the north of England, Charles led his army to the north of Scotland, won the great Battle of Falkirk, and besieged Stirling Castle until reinforcements arrived.
Lacking money and resources, Charles decided to fight the English at Drumossie Moor, near Inverness. Each side chose its own tactics: the government troops relied on their firearms, while the Jacobites used the Highlander attack, a brave but unsuitable tactic for open marshland.
Culloden is one of Scotland’s most emotionally powerful sites – a bleak stretch of scrubby moorland 10 minutes from Inverness, virtually empty except for a new Visitor Center (opened in 2007) and a headstone and memorial shrine8.
This place is a reminder of both the historical injustice done to Scottish culture and its ultimate resilience in the face of adversity.
It’s also worth heading west to visit Glenfinnan, the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his royal standard and launched the Jacobite rebellion. The Glenfinnan Monument is located on the shores of Loch Shiel in the Lochaber district of the Highlands.