The Battle of Bannockburn

The Battle of Bannockburn team have been working hard to enhance your visit. Enjoy a guided tour through a series of films and exhibits and witness the sights and sounds of medieval battle first hand. The experience also explores the stories of some of the people who fought, as well as debunking common myths and misconceptions.

Entry is by pre-booked time slots – tickets for the Battle of Bannockburn Experience can be booked online.

What to expect

Entry is by pre-booked time slots – tickets for the Battle of Bannockburn Experience can be booked online.

The reception desk is located to your right when you enter the visitor centre (within the gift shop). This is where you will check in for your tour.

If you’d like to visit our café before the battle experience, it’s straight down the hallway from reception on your left.

Battle experience

Please note that the battle experience is a dark and loud environment. There’s very low lighting throughout and there are often loud, overlapping noises from the various battle scenes (including scenes of a violent nature). Unless otherwise requested, visitors should expect to be on their feet most of the time when touring the main experience space; a visit lasts approximately 60 minutes.

The battle experience room is kept at cooler temperatures to keep our technology from overheating. We advise bringing a jacket if you get cold easily.

At your allocated start time, following a brief introduction from your tour guide, you will enter the Prologue film space through a curtained doorway. The two films in this room last approximately 3 minutes each and give an overview of events leading up to the Battle of Bannockburn.

Following the introductory films, your guide will lead you through into the circular Battle Room (wheelchair-accessible) with a large, low-level map in the centre. In this room you will hear about the events of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 via the map.

After this, you will be led into an open-plan area which consists of large screens entirely covering the walls of the circular room. Here, battle scenes will be described to you by your guide (around 10 minutes), then you will be given approximately 15 minutes to explore this room yourself. Within this room you’ll find interpretation about some of the people involved on either side of the battle, along with extracts from some of the sources about the battle. There is also a display of replica medieval armour, weaponry and clothing. Your guide will remain with you in this room, so if you require any additional assistance or have any questions, please feel free to ask.

For the last part of the tour, your guide will lead you down the short corridor to the Epilogue film space, where you will see the final film of the experience (approximately 6 minutes in length) detailing the aftermath of the battle.

Finally, you will exit the experience space through the wide automatic door into the brightly lit café area, where your guide will finish off the tour.

Grounds, shop and café

While entry to the battle experience is via paid, timed-entry slots, visitors are welcome to explore the outdoor grounds and access the café and gift shop for free.

Suitability for children

The Battle of Bannockburn experience portrays the often brutal consequences of medieval conflict in a dark, immersive environment. Highly realistic computer-generated imagery shows soldiers being killed and injured, and includes dramatic close-ups of men being struck with arrows, axes and swords. This is a theatrical, violent (but bloodless and not overly graphic) depiction of medieval battle.

Parents, teachers and guardians should consider what is age-appropriate for children in their care.

To find out more about school visits at the Battle of Bannockburn Experience, please visit our learning website.

We think the experience is suitable for visitors aged 7 years and above. However, you know your child; some content might not be right for some children.

Please note that all those under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. We reserve the right to refuse entry to those who are not accompanied by an adult and are unable to prove they are 16 or over.

There is a large car park and a designated coach park beside the visitor centre.

Assistance dogs are welcome.

For more information about planning your visit please see our frequently asked questions.

If you’d like to speak to us we can be contacted by email: bannockburn2014@nts.org.uk or telephone: 01786 812664.