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A stone monument stands on a hillside above a misty loch, a bench and gravel path nearby and trees framing the view.
Dumfries and Galloway

Bruce’s Stone

A granite boulder above Loch Trool, where Bruce watched an English force break.

Welcome

A rough granite boulder stands on the knowe above Loch Trool, set on a plinth of smaller stones, and from it the whole glen opens out below.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It marks the Battle of Glen Trool in March 1307, fought on the far shore, where Robert the Bruce’s men rolled boulders down onto an English column strung out along the lochside path: a small action by the standards of the war, and the first of the campaign that ended at Bannockburn seven years later. The monument itself is much later. It was unveiled on 5 June 1929, the six hundredth anniversary year of Bruce’s death, when memorials to him were going up across the country. The walk from the car park is short and steep enough to warm you, and the view from the top is the point. The Merrick, the highest hill in southern Scotland, starts from the same place.

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The Daily for 29 October, from Scotland with love. An aerial view from a garden staircase looks down a formal garden's central path, statues and cherub urns lining the balustrade in the foreground.
Before you go
How long
Half an hour to an hour
Cost
Free
Getting there
Car park at the road end above Loch Trool, then a short steep path.

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Did you know

A stone cairn topped with a flat slab stands on a mossy rock outcrop, mist obscuring the hills behind.
Did you know

March 1307.

It marks the Battle of Glen Trool, fought on the far shore, where Bruce\u{2019}s men rolled boulders down onto an English column on the lochside path.

A stone monument stands on a hillside above a misty loch, a bench and gravel path nearby and trees framing the view.
Did you know

Unveiled in 1929.

The south face reads "Unveiled 5 June 1929". It went up in the six hundredth anniversary year of Bruce\u{2019}s death, one of several memorials raised that year.

A stone cairn topped with a flat slab stands on a mossy rock outcrop, mist obscuring the hills behind.
Did you know

The road to Bannockburn.

The north face calls it the victory which "opened the campaign of independence which he brought to a decisive close at Bannockburn on 24 June 1314".

Emily Rose Mawson

From our guide to Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is the Scottish monarch’s homeland. He was descended from the Lords of Annandale, though his place of birth is uncertain, and he slew his rival for the crown of Scotland The Red Comyn in Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries in 1306. At Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura you can see a replica of his skull. Over on the shores of Loch Trool, with one of the finest views over Galloway Forest Park, Bruce’s Stone marks his first victory over an English army – the Battle of Glentrool in 1307.

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Where it is

Above the north shore of Loch Trool, at the head of the Glentrool road.

Close byThe rest of Dumfries and Galloway, near at hand.
  1. Aerial view of a winding loch surrounded by autumn woodland and hillsLoch TroolA dark loch under the Merrick, where Bruce rolled rocks onto an English column.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Galloway Forest ParkGalloway Forest ParkBritain's largest forest park, over 300 square miles of forest, lochs and hills in Galloway, and the UK's first Dark Sky Park.1 mile 7 min by road
  3. Otter's PoolOtter's PoolA wide shallow pool on the Black Water of Dee, halfway down the Raiders' Road.1 mile 7 min by road
Directions
Whisky barrels line a gravel path beside a distillery's glass-fronted timber buildingAttractionsGalloway Distillery15 miles

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ArticleHills, Forests and Valleys of Southern Scotland
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