THE historic Battle of Bannockburn site is to shut until 2028 while its visitor centre undergoes a multi-million-pound programme of upgrades and repairs.
It comes after campaigner Sean Clerkin raised concerns about the state of the historic battlefield outside Stirling, where Robert the Bruce famously defeated King Edward II’s English army in 1314. In response, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) accepted that the site currently falls "short of the standard" expected.
Now, the NTS has confirmed that the centre will close on October 1, with a re-opening date set for “mid-2028”.
The £3 million upgrade will focus on the visitor centre and the ground will remain open.
At Bannockburn, the "rotunda, memorial cairn, flagpole and statue of King Robert I" are all A-listed historical monuments, the highest categorisation.
The rotunda may be restricted at certain periods to enable conservation work to be carried out.
The visitor centre was first opened in 2014 as part of a £9.1m project, with NTS working alongside Historic Scotland and funding provided by the Scottish Government and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It was timed to coincide with the 700th anniversary of the famous battle, and replaced outdated indoor facilities at the battlefield which had previously been in place since the 1960s.
The NTS’s regional director for Edinburgh and east, Stuart Maxwell, said: “Bannockburn is an important place for so many people, and it is vital that we continue to develop both the visitor experience and the facilities to the standard that a site of such significance merits.
“With this project, we’ll be comprehensively updating the experience to share the Bannockburn story in ways that resonate with people as well as making a whole range of repairs and updates, including upgrades to improve sustainability, helping our charity towards its objective to cut carbon emissions.”
Previously, the NTS lobbied against development of a trotting track for harness racing on the site of the 1314 battle.
Last summer, Scottish Government ministers stepped in to prevent the track being built, overturning officials’ recommendations that it be approved.
