It took place at the hamlet of Dalrigh (the "King's Field" in the Scottish Gaelic language) near Tyndrum in Perthshire, Scotland (not to be confused with Dalry, Ayrshire).

By the late 13th century, the Clan MacDougall had emerged in Argyll as powerful descendants of Somerled, the first Lord of the Isles and former king of the Hebrides.

Alexander managed to extend his power still further at the expense of the great family of MacDonalds of Islay, the Lords of the Isles, and the Campbells of Loch Awe, whom he defeated in battle sometime in the mid-1290s.

On 19 June 1306 Bruce and his army were caught unprepared in their night camp at the Battle of Methven, west of Perth, by Aymer de Valence, an English general acting for Edward I.

The exact site of the battle is known in Gaelic as Dail Righ-the King's Field-though it is uncertain if this was the name at the time or added afterwards by the chroniclers.

Bruce's remaining horses were killed by the MacDougall axemen, who also wounded many of his men, including Sir James Douglas and Gilbert de la Hay.

Bruce was so heavily involved in action with the rearguard that he found himself at one point alone and under attack between a hill and the lochside, a pass so narrow that he could not turn his horse.

From here the king sent Queen Elizabeth, his daughter Marjorie Bruce, his sister, Mary, and Isabella MacDuff the Countess of Buchan to the relative safety of Kildrummy Castle, near the River Don in Aberdeenshire.

[4] From here he was helped to cross over to the Kintyre Peninsula by way of Bute, where he was aided by Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill, chief of the MacDonalds and Lord of the Isles.