The Spirit of Scotland monument was erected in 2004. It was commissioned by the Irvine Valley Regeneration Partnership (IVRP) to commemorate the two battles fought at Loudoun Hill during Scotland's Wars of Independence.
William Wallace - 1297 and Robert the Bruce - 1307.
The sculptor.......Richard Price.
There was a time when some people thought that, William Wallace, like King Arthur and Robin Hood was simply a legend and that his heroic deeds were nothing more than myths and tales. This of course is not so and the Scottish nation is left to thank Wallace's sworn enemies, the English, for maintaining the most detailed written records of his exploits. For many years he remained a thorn in the side of the evil and tyrannical king Edward (Longshanks) of England, and, unlike most of the Scottish hierarchy, was prepared to take a stance against the English oppressors. He was determined to remove Longshanks' cruel subjugation of Scotland by any means available and in so doing was more than ferocious in his actions. Having only a small group of committed followers he adopted guerilla warfare tactics and initially limited his encounters with the enemy to that of minor skirmishes and ambushes before disappearing back into hiding. With his fame spreading quickly, it wasn't too long before he had gathered a substantial army, mostly peasant, but still strong enough to inflict several defeats upon the English. Longshanks was forced to offer the Scottish nobility a huge bounty for Wallace's capture and it was inevitable that this same despicable group of cowardly landowners would find a way to take Wallace and hand him over to the English. His trial in London was pure mockery and the cruel manner of his execution, 'hung, drawn and quartered' was devised for Wallace by Longshanks himself. This of course was the recipe for producing a martyr. Wallace's spirit and deeds were not forgotten and it wasn't long before another Scottish patriot stepped forward and took over from where Wallace had left off. This of course was Robert the Bruce, but then again, that is another story.
From the car park take either of the two short downhill paths to the sculpture. To find the cache, cross the stile and head downstream by way of the obvious track through the bracken.
Congratulations go to Clartydug on being FTF