A new visitor centre about the Battle of Bannockburn is gearing up for its opening next weekend.

The visitor attraction, developed in partnership by the National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland, opens on March 1 ahead of the 700th anniversary of the battle on June 23-24.

The centre will help people learn about the battle and will feature 10 digital characters from both Robert the Bruce and Edward II's armies, who will interact with visitors using gesture recognition technology.

They will discuss the weaponry, tactics and techniques involved in the battle, as well help visitors learn about the people taking part in the battle, their skills, motivations, allegiances and personal stories.

Robert the Bruce and King Edward II will feature in 3D in the Centre's "Prepare for Battle" room, where visitors are transported back to 1314, the night before the battle.

Visitors can wander between both camps and see some of the preparations.

Each visit will culminate in the Battle Game where visitors will be allocated an army division which appears on a massive 3D map of the Stirling landscape, giving a birds-eye view of the battle.

Battlemasters will be on hand to provide historical details, tips and advice before declaring the successful side, summarising the results of the action with an overview of how the battle played out in 1314, and revealing the 21st-century version of the landscape and locations of conflict.

Interpretation designers Bright White developed the concept of the Battle Game and worked with games console company D3T.

Dr Richard Tipping of Stirling University and experts in 3D technology from the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation have also been involved in the project.