The Battle of Loudoun Hill was fought on 10 May 1307, between a Scots force led by King Robert the Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.

Robert's army virtually disintegrated under Valence's rapid onslaught, with many of the king's leading supporters falling in battle or being executed as prisoners.

In February 1307 King Robert crossed from the island of Arran in the Firth of Clyde to his own earldom of Carrick, in Ayrshire, landing near Turnberry, where he knew the local people would be sympathetic, but where all the strongholds were held by the English.

A similar landing by his brothers Thomas and Alexander in Galloway met with disaster on the shores of Loch Ryan at the hands of Dungal MacDouall, the principal Balliol adherent in the region.

Whenever possible, crops would be destroyed and livestock removed from the path of the enemy's advance, denying him fresh supplies and fodder for the heavy war horses.

Most important of all, King Robert recognized the seasonal nature of English invasions, which swept over the country like summer tides, only to withdraw before the onset of winter.

King Robert won his first small success at Glen Trool, where he ambushed an English force led by Aymer de Valence, attacking from above with boulders and archers and driving them off with heavy losses.

John Barbour describes his actions in his rhyming chronicle: The king upon the other side, Whose prudence was his valour's guide, Rode out to see and chose his ground.

As the king's spearmen pressed downhill on the disorganized knights, they fought with such vigor that the rear ranks of the English began to flee in panic.