Cambuskenneth Abbey, Stirlingshire
AT the time of the battle of Bannockburn, this would have been one of only two stone buildings in Stirling – the other being the castle.
It’s a ruin now, of course. All the abbeys were taken apart during the Reformation but we know it was where Robert Bruce met with William Lamberton, a bishop, and they swore a secret deal that Robert would become king of Scotland and, for his part, he would protect the independence of the Scottish church. It was in secrecy because both were sworn servants of King Edward I and this deal would have been treason.
I find it moving there are places you can go – such as Cambuskenneth – where you can be in the shadow of a moment that affected everyone. The fact that for a time Scotland was accepted as an independent kingdom, that’s had consequences that resonate to the present day.