Robert the Bruce
Robert I, known as Robert the Bruce, was born in 1274 into an aristocratic Scottish family. The Bruce's grandfather was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne in 1290 - 1292, The English king, Edward I, was asked to sort out who should get it, and he chose John Balliol to be king instead of Robert’s grandad – but you should never trust an Englishman! Edward soon tired of King John Balliol, and when an alliance was signed between Scotland and France, that was the last straw – Edward invaded and in 1795 forced King John to abdicate and nicked his Great Seal, Crown, and castles. Brucey supported the invasion, but you should never trust a Scot either! Two years later Boy Wonder Bruce was supporting William Wallace's uprising against the English.
As Mel Gibson never tires of reminding us, Wallace was eventually defeated and grumsonely executed (see https://coord.info/GC2823 for details), but Brucey-boy's lands were not confiscated and in 1298, Bruce became a guardian of Scotland, along with John Comyn, the other main claimant for the throne left alive. In 1306, Our Bruce quarrelled with Comyn and stabbed him in the church in Dumfries (that's gotta hurt). The Bruce was outlawed, excommunicated by the Pope, declared himself king anyway, and was crowned at Scone. But then he was deposed by Edward's army and forced to flee - by boat to Ireland. His wife and daughters were imprisoned and three of his brothers executed, so all in all Bubba Bruce was feeling slightly down when he found himself alone in a 'clod hut' for the winter on Rathlin Island off the coast of Antrim. It was here where he mulled over his six defeats, and got inspiration from a patient and persistent tiny creature...
Six times the gossamery thread
The wary spider threw;--
In vain the filmy line was sped,
For powerless or untrue
Each aim appeared, and back recoiled
The patient insect, six times foiled,
And yet unconquered still;
And soon the Bruce, with eager eye,
Saw him prepare once more to try
His courage, strength, and skill.
(by: Bernard Barton, 1784-1849)
Returning to Scotland, Robert waged a highly successful guerrilla war against the English, over many years and with much haggis and frequent drams, no doubt. Eventually, at the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314, he defeated Edward’s much larger Sassenach army and became undisputed King of Scotland, confirmed by the Pope in 1324. Edward was later disposed, the first English king to be given the heave-ho since the Aethling in 1066. The Bruce died three years later, and wanted his heart be taken to the Holy Land, but they probably used Yodel, since it only got as far as Spain before it was sent back, postage unpaid, and was buried in Melrose Abbey instead.
This cache commemorates Robert the Bruce's miserable winter on Rathlin Island. This location is a picnic site but in winter it doesn't seem particularly inviting. There's space for one car (see waypoint). To get the cache head up the bank, to the left, and look for the biggest, most impressive tree. The unusual container is low down, and is not the "Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim'rous beastie" of Rabbie Burns' poem, but those words could equally apply here. Location spoiler photo in the gallery in case you have a really difficult time. Apologies for the terribly in-authentic accent in the hint!