Other than his inspiration from a spider and his victory at Bannockburn, many will not know that South Ayrshire was the county of his birth, where he restarted the campaign to take back his kingdom after suffering defeat and where he returned time and again after the famous victory at Bannockburn.
Robert the Bruce became one of Scotland's greatest kings and he was born in the heart of South Ayrshire at Turnberry Castle on 11th July 1274.
He was not born to be king but after the death of king Alexander III, a long power struggle between the competitors to the throne led to intervention by king Edward I of England, who subsequently forced the abdication of king John Balliol.
When Edward declared himself as Overlord of Scotland, so began the Wars of Independence, the uprisings of Wallace and Murray, culminating in the victory for Scotland at Bannockburn.
Much of the drama was played out here in South Ayrshire. The location of this geocache and others in this series/trail will explain more.
Turnberry Castle was once an impressive fortress, seat of the ancient Earls of Carrick and before that the stronghold of the Lords of Galloway.
Little remains of the castle today, the castle is surrounded on three sides by the sea and the land side is today, occupied by the Turnberry golf resort. The ruin has been affected by the actions of centuries of severe weather and erosion by the sea, leaving little more than its lower vaults and cellars intact. There are some vestiges of a drawbridge as well as an old portcullis which may have done duty as a gate. By the extent of the rock which seems to be included at the site, the castle appears to have been a fortress of great size and strength. There are also caves that lead out into the sea, that may have served the castle as a harbour.
A lighthouse was built on part of the castle's site in 1873, and still stands today.
This cache has been placed out on behalf of the Carrick Community Council who funded the caches along the Bruce Trail for the UK's 7th Geocaching Event held here in Ayrshire and Arran. The trail has been placed out to introduce you to the rich history and connections to Robert the Bruce that can be found around Ayrshire.
Cache location is a section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, a wide sandy beach which runs parallel with the Golf Resort, there is no need to enter the Golf Resort as long as you follow the waypoints to this cache.
The views from GZ are worth the walk. On a clear day two lighthouses are visible, Turnberry beside you and Plada of the southern coast of Arran. Holy Isle, Arran and Ailsa Craig can be seen too.
If you want to complete the Bruce Trail around South Ayrshire there are 17 Geocaches situated around the villages and towns that have a connection with Robert the Bruce.
You can follow the following link to a Bookmark created by Highcliffhanger here: Robert the Bruce Trail for more information
THIS CACHE IS PART OF A MEGA 3 SHIRE CHALLENGE - PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THE STAMP FROM INSIDE THE CACHE - THANKS - FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO DOWNLOAD YOUR PASSPORT FOR THE 3 SHIRE CHALLENGE CLICK HERE