Related to Robert the Bruce

With a new film about to be released, Outlaw King, depicting the life and times of Robert the Bruce I was reminded of tour we ran several years ago for a family by the name of Bruce.

We deliver pre arranged motorcycle tours and also regularly plan bespoke motorbike tours for clients. Some years ago we received an enquiry from the Bruce family. They wanted us to arrange a bespoke tour around Scotland on Harley-Davidson's that paid particular attention to the life and times of Robert the Bruce. More importantly they truly believed that they might be descendants of the Scottish King.

The father and son were a lovely pair and as the father had worked as a motorcycle instructor much of his life I expected them to be good riders. Nevertheless, to ease them into riding, on what was to them "the wrong side of the road", we left our premises and joined the M77 motorway for a few miles. Upon exiting the motorway at Newton Mearns I led them onto the B769 Stewarton Road which has two way traffic albeit it is a narrow road. Indeed most of the roads in Scotland are like this. Bruce Snr immediately pulled over. I stopped and made my way back to him to ask what was wrong. He said "you have taken a wrong turn", I asked why he thought that and he replied "that truck coming towards us almost ran me off the road". I reassured him we were on the right path but to get prepared because the roads ahead get even narrower. I then told him that later in the day we would be passing through the Galloway Forrest to make our way to the site of the battle of Glen Trool (1307) which was one of the first that Bruce fought as he endeavoured to reclaim the Scottish throne. On that road we were likely to be sharing, or find ourselves opposing, logging trucks that are often wider than the road!

The somewhat grumpy change in Mr Bruce's mood made me wonder if my planned stop ahead would be as well received as I had hopped. You see I was taking them to Dundonald Castle, which was build by Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland in 1371. He was the grandson of Robert I and the first in the Stewart (Stuart) line. At the castle I began to explain that Robert the Bruce had no male survivors. The Bruce's listened attentively then Bruce Snr turned to his son and said "we must be related to the bastard side of the family!" I knew then that they had a sence of humour and the trip ahead would certainly be fun.

View the Bruce Family Tour and learn more about McTours and the places we visited on this motorcycle tour https://www.mctours.eu/tour/66/scotland/glasgow/robert-the-bruce-trail-motorcycle-tour