The Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre Reviews Summary

Guided Tour

Pros:

• "Free Parking right at the door, you are led through a 3d video experience then 15 minutes of free time to learn about the battle after an intro by the knowledgeable tour guide."
• "The staff were extremely knowledgeable and very interesting."
• "Warwick our guide was very knowledgeable and gave a very in-depth presentation on the subject and able to answer many different questions."
• "Susan Munroe, our tour guide, who told the story of the battle with style and wit."
• "Our guide, Betty, was absolutely superb at keeping both adults and children entertained."
• "The guide was excellent - he had some really impressive historical knowledge."
• "The professionalism of the people presenting the subject (Dr. Callum Watson) is second to none."

Cons:

• "The actual place is amazing but was spoiled by the guide who was very very loud, regimental, over strict and does not know his audience."
• "Guides were very pleasant and knowledgeable but I didn't learn the way I thought I would."
• "Visited with friends yesterday and the experience was spoiled by one member of staff who would not give her name?"
• "Descriptions were too fast and too vague. More storytelling required."
• "Our guide in the day did not guide the group well and the experience was fairly dull as a result."
• "The ‘immersive’ experience consisted of a rather rude guide in the first room."
• "Our guide had little enthusiasm for her subject and maybe a little more knowledge."

Interactive Experience

Pros:

• "The description of the actual battle and the chance to play our own version was very engaging."
• "Battle simulation engaging and difficult to win!"
• "3d very good."
• "Fantastic experience which includes 3D battle simulators!"
• "A really enjoyable and fascinating afternoon for anyone interested in the history of the Battle of Bannockburn."
• "Huge investment has transformed this special place with state-of-the-art audio visuals."
• "The visual display is amazing, 3 D effect makes you feel you are actually in the midst of the battle."

Cons:

• "The interactive game part seemed very rushed."
• "They only do a guided tour in the centre you cannot wander around and look at the exhibits."
• "The multimedia films are... 'shonky' at best, with stylised janky animations."
• "The game at the end lasted a tad too long."
• "The interactive displays may be of interest to children but was not pitched at an adult audience."
• "The battle ‘game’ lasted over an hour with a guide giving a history lesson which made no sense."
• "A 'war game' style interactive experience that seemed to go on for hours."

Facilities & Accessibility

Pros:

• "The Cafe is easily accessed for all and very airy and clean (lots of open windows)."
• "All wheelchair accessible and easy for anyone with any mobility issues."
• "There is disabled facilities and parking."
• "Suitable for wheelchair users and prams and has a large car park."
• "Great access and suitable for wheelchair users - no steps and plenty of space to move around."
• "Free parking, good priced cakes n coffee, seating inside and out."
• "Incredibly disabled-friendly."

Cons:

• "Grounds could to with updated signage that clearly references key areas of the battle (current signage is vague and not aligned to ground)."
• "The only downside was the cobble stones around the Robert Bruce statue. I could not wheel my wife nearer than 5/7 meters away."
• "Less than I expected... on a snowy day the car park was a disaster and none of the paths outside were cleared or gritted."
• "There are information boards alongside the path, unfortunately these are quite inaccessible for wheelchair users, being gravel filled mesh."
• "The car park isn't very big for the size of the site."
• "One safety point. Perhaps entrance to Battle room could be illuminated by small lights on doorway as leaving first room entrance is not immediately visible and people with disabilities might have an accident."
• "The main attraction being the battle room where you could choose how to fight the battle has been retired."

Value & Experience

Pros:

• "Absolutely worth a visit! Tour guides are excellent and very knowledgeable."
• "The experience is very reasonably priced and well worth the money."
• "Great value for money too only 7.5 pound for an adult for a 1hr tour."
• "Fantastic interactive experience. 2 short animated videos at the start then 3D presentation of the battle."
• "The cafe is fine and the sausage rolls are legend...watch out Greggs."
• "The interactive experience is however expensive."
• "The Battle Experience (located inside the Visitor Centre) takes about an hour and is definitely worth doing if you're also visiting the Battlefield itself."

Cons:

• "Visitor centre was a bit of a disappointment I'm afraid."
• "Used to be so much better when the interactive elements worked, but they broke during covid I was told."
• "Very disappointing. Only the big screens worked, and showed -very boring- several times the same scenes."
• "With all the 'shall I move the next lot in' etc I felt rather herded."
• "It cost us £11.50 each to get in and my daughter under 5 was free. I don't mind paying for these things but I felt that £11.50 for a 20 minute 3D show was really overpriced."
• "My other gripe is the extortionate prices in the cafe which other people have mentioned."
• "No artifacts, weapons or historical things on show... it's not worth the £11.50 entry money."