AN adventurer and his faithful border collie have completed a 1000-mile march in the footsteps of Robert the Bruce 700 years after the Battle of Bannockburn.
Gregor Ewing, 42, from Falkirk, re-created the route taken by the Bruce as he reclaimed his kingdom of Scotland. He said his first task would be to shave off his Robinson Crusoe look after walking and camping wild for 65 days.
Mr Ewing, accompanied by pet dog Meg, set out on the nine-week adventure on March 16 at Tyndrum, where Bruce was defeated in battle in 1306, sending him into hiding.
The pair completed the walk at Bannockburn, near Stirling, the site of the Scottish king's most famous victory, over the English, in 1314.
Mr Ewing walked up to 18 miles a day and lost nearly two stone in weight.
He said: "Two years ago I walked 500 miles following Bonnie Prince Charlie's flight after his defeat at Culloden. Being 700 years since the Battle of Bannockburn I thought Bruce was the ideal figure for my next challenge.
"We walked for most of the daylight hours and wild camped at night. I'm looking forward to seeing my family. The first thing I need is a proper wash and shave to lose the Robinson Crusoe look. I've also lost up to two stone, so I can't wait to raid the fridge for fresh food."
Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scots in 1306 but suffered successive defeats in battle and fled the country before returning in 1307. Mr Ewing followed the route of Bruce's campaign of 1307-1308 to the north east of Scotland before continuing on to castles, battlefields and other locations critical to King Robert's eventual victory.
The property manager said: "People don't realise how much of a national figure Robert the Bruce was — there are so any places throughout Scotland with important links. He travelled the country trying to unify the nation, and it all came together at Bannockburn in 1314."
Mr Ewing suffered blisters, and an injured foot when he tried to hammer in a tent peg with his foot. He and Meg were also chased by 20 Highland cows on a road in Royal Deeside.
But he said he and his pet enjoyed their adventure.
He said: "Meg has a rucksack in which she carries her own food, water and equipment. When it goes on her she knows she's off on a big adventure.
"She's had lots of attention — not many people have seen a dog with a rucksack before."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article