Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 25 on 17/02/2006.

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From caverns to castles (Robert the Bruce)

Robert the Bruce is arguably Scotland’s greatest monarch, Mark Nicholls sets off on his trail

In a sheer and imposing cliff made of vivid stone, high above the River Kirtle in the south of Scotland, is the opening to a cold and dank cave. So legend has it, this was the lonely, desolate home of Robert the Bruce for three bleak months in the winter of 1313.

The King of Scots was in hiding from the forces of the English king, Edward II. These were desolate times for a man who was arguably Scotland’s greatest monarch.

The story goes that within the confines of this cavern close to Gretna, and, at the time accessed only by a rope hung from the top of the cliff, Robert the Bruce found the motivation to continue his fight for independence for Scotland.

That inspiration came from the most unlikely of sources. Within the half-light of the cavern Bruce, according to the legend, was mesmerised by a spider attempting to build a web.

The spider would spin the web and then fall. Yet the spider had a natural inner strength to persevere and kept climbing up and falling and re-climbing to spin its web until it had achieved its goal.

Within the loneliness of that cave, Robert the Bruce learned the most basic of morals: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Whether fact, or historical metaphor, the analogy was that Bruce kept on trying, and this for a man who had seen four brothers, dozens of other relatives and many more of his followers butchered by the English during the brutal conflict.

When King Robert left the cavern, he raised the army that was to achieve one of th.....

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By Mark Nicholls

Section : Scottish Legends

Page number : 62