Nigel's Photo Blog

Stirling Bridge over the River Forth This evening, I am providing new information on the Battle of Stirling Bridge which took place on September 11th 1297 at a location about forty miles N.W.of Edinburgh, Scotland. Today's Times newspaper reports on work undertaken by Murray Cook of Stirling University who points out that the location of a medieval harbour at nearby Cambuskenneth indicates that the tidal range of the River Forth was up to about six feet higher seven hundred years ago. The water may have risen about twelve feet behind the English army as they slowly mustered on the  north bank thus entrapping them between the Scots in front and the rising water behind. Result was the English broke ranks with loss of about 5000 men. Clearly the English were ignorant of local conditions thus giving the advantage to Wallace and the Scots notwithstanding the superior size of the English force. The following narrative is taken from a previous blog post and should be interpr...

(Above image is a capture of Stirling Old Bridge which dates from 1400s or 1500s and is a proxy for the earlier wooden bridge.) This evening, I am reporting on the Battle of Stirling Bridge which took place on September 11th 1297. This proved a turning point in the long-running conflict between the English and Scots with victory of the latter acting as a  significant morale boost to what had been perceived as an underdog. Stirling is about forty miles N.W.of Edinburgh. This was (and remains) the location of a strategically important castle the control of which was critical to the control of Scotland. The bridge at centre of the battle was wooden and located about a hundred yards upstream of the existing stone built medieval bridge (above) which spans the River Forth and is situated on the plain between Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. This battle arose as a function of the aggressive and predatory attitude of the English King, Edward I towards Scotland and h...