Bannockburn Live Review: Remembering 700 Years Since the Battle of Bannockburn

There were three battle re-enactments during the day. We really should have opted for the first one at noon, but at the time our daughter was playing up and we didn’t think we’d get to see it all. In the end, we made a big mistake. The next session had queues around the park to get in, and then final one at 4pm had people queuing from the 2pm session!

In the end, we didn’t get to see the battle re-enactment. That wouldn’t have been too bad if it wasn’t for a lot going on in the encampment area. It wasn’t just about the battle, but about discussing the battle strategies from the Scots and English. There seemed to be crafts for children too, and we missed out on a lot.

We came home very disappointed, but part of it was our own fault for not going when the queue was at its shortest at noon. We should have known the queues would be long for the other two sessions. Some of the problems were down to the organization though. Really, the tickets should have had a session printed on them. It would have meant people knew they were only guaranteed to get in if they went at the exact time on their ticket. Failing that, having some of the discussions outside of the encampment area, and more things for children to do elsewhere would have been interesting.

Except for a puppet show right at the start of the day, there was really nothing for smaller children to do. It was set up for those who were 5-years or older, with more emphasis for adults especially in the areas outside the encampment section. We never saw the encampments, but there were a lot of excited children coming out of it, so I can only presume something was there.

There was a garden party style section with face painting. I don’t like face paint, and didn’t want my daughter getting it done (my sister and I are allergic to it and I’m not too sure about my daughter). But she did have some fun with the giant games. The only problem is she’s at the stage of throwing tantrums if she doesn’t get her own way, and she tries to join in when people don’t really want her to. There were moments where we had to rush to stop her picking up a giant checker piece while two children were having fun.

With it being in a field, the event organizers advised people not to take buggies. Thinking it was going to be muddy and boggy, we decided to follow that advice, but I really wish we didn’t. The whole day would have been much better having a buggy for our daughter to be pushed around in. She could have happily slept in that, and we may have even waited for the battle re-enactment! There was no need for the organizers to advise against taking buggies, which really annoyed us.

Unless you wanted to go and spend a fortune on handmade crafts, the village was really disappointing. I was expecting small, handmade items that were linked to the Battle of Bannockburn in some way. I also expected some things for the kids to do.

In the end, it was 10 or so stalls of companies based around the area. They showed off their craft products, including silver jewelry and woodwork made from whisky barrels. Don’t get me wrong, the items looked great, but they just weren’t what I expected based on the website.

We loved the farmer’s market. As expected, this was a range of produce from the local stores within a tent. There were seafood stores, places selling homemade salad dressings, authentic Scottish tablet and even curries! Some were sold out by the time we looked around an hour into the day, but many others had plenty of stuff throughout. It goes to show the popularity of certain items, and those that knew they were going to be popular so stocked up.

By the end of the day, the stalls had pretty much completely sold out. I’m not surprised either. We missed out on some lemon and black pepper fudge (it was delicious!) but we did get some gorgeous salad dressings, my husband got some tablet and my daughter got some delicious cookies.

The music was the second part that saved the day. It was a range of styles, including folk music and rock. As with any music, my daughter loved dancing away. With it being in a field, she was also able to run around without annoying people, and we could sit down without doing too much chasing around. There were a few moments where she went to sit with a group of children or tried playing football with them, but most of the time she just wanted to dance and run around—and I couldn’t blame her.

The food there was also delicious, and not overly priced. Even the drinks were reasonable, especially the alcohol! We expected it to be London Olympic prices, which were around £8 a pint, but we ended up paying normal Scottish prices! The places would have made a killing when it came to finances though because most ended up sold out and there were queues out the door.

Another part that helped save it was the story time village. This was where the puppet show was, and there were other talks throughout the day. While our daughter needed a nap, we decided to sit in on a talk about “dark tourism,” which my husband and I found really interesting—you can probably tell that our daughter didn’t and decided to sleep on my knee for the whole 40 minutes. But that was the main reason we went. There were others we would have liked to have seen later in the day, but we ended up leaving early because we were fed up with a naughty little girl not getting to do as much as she wanted—and there just wasn’t enough for her to keep her entertained.

For adults, and especially one interested in history, the day was extremely interesting. Many of the talks surrounded some of the lesser talked-about aspects of tourism, Bannockburn and the clan families. My husband was disappointed that his clan wasn't there, but then realized that they probably chose not to turn up on the day 700 years ago!

There was a chance to meet a number of historians and authors. Alistair Moffat was signing books just as we were leaving, and I had the chance to hear him speak briefly. Unfortunately, it was at the point in the day when moods were low because of everything else had happened. I would have loved to have heard him speak in full and have him sign a book...next time! And I will make sure there is a next time.

There was plenty on for adults, and most of the day was created for grown-ups. Even some of the story-telling was for adults rather than children.

We happily take some of the responsibility for the disappointment. But we weren't the only people disappointed due to the poorly structured encampment area and timings. There were some people stating they were going to get their money back because they had missed out on the battle re-enactments.

The farmer’s market and the music really saved the day from being a complete disaster. If we’d have gotten into the battle re-enactment area it may have been different, but the day wasn’t worth the price of the ticket.