Our Journey

Moving to Bannockburn

I grew up in Fife and moved to Bannockburn in 2000. Shortly after I began attending the annual Commemorations of the Battle of Bannockburn and Battle of Stirling Bridge. Over the following years, I formed a great friendship with singer/songwriter Ted Christopher who organises the Commemorations. Attending these annual events, and listening to Teds Music taught me more about Scottish History than I ever learned in school.

Adopting Molly from the Dogs Trust

The year 2017 was significant in our journey. Not only did I marry Kim in June, but she got her wish when we adopted Molly from the Dogs Trust in December. Both were great choices on my part, though the latter was a leap of faith which cured my fear of dogs. Molly brought us the most amazing adventures and joy. Kim was right and I was proved wrong (again). 

Molly’s favourite place in the World became the Battle of Bannockburn. Twice annual visits became 5 or 6 times per week. Throughout 2018, we noticed many visitors spent less than 15 minutes at the battlefield. They would take a few photos of King Robert the Bruce and leave the village soon after. 

Molly and I thought: “Where is the welcome, the warm hug and the thank you?”.

Freedom Tour Today

So in 2019, we set up Freedom Tour Today to welcome visitors to Bannockburn and Stirling Bridge and share stories of the battles and places to visit locally. We soon became the unofficial Stirling Welcome Team. We also began to spend a few hours a week wandering around the City Centre and walking up to Stirling Castle to welcome tourists, chatting to them about history and places to eat/drink and thanking them for choosing Stirling as their destination. 

Robert the Bruce pointed us in the direction of Duncan Thomson of the Strathleven Artizans. Duncan invited me to the Douglas Days Festival in Teba, Spain. Douglas Days is a 3-day festival honouring the Good Sir James Douglas. See you there in August when the kind-hearted people of Teba Welcome the World! 

The Pandemic in 2020 saw many people build pubs in their back gardens. Instead, Molly and I went on long walks along the Bannockburn to see King Robert. Feeling guilty that I hadn’t built anything during these strange times, I decided to build a fence to stop Molly from chasing after her tennis ball onto the road. A new adventure was about to begin as the Superheroes' fence grew Saltires and Crests in honour of the Leaders at the Battles of Stirling Bridge, Falkirk and Bannockburn.

Scottish Superheroes T-shirts and Hoodies

During the lockdowns, Scottish Societies such as The Strathleven Artizans, the Society of William Wallace and the Guardians of Scotland Trust were unable to hold fundraising events. Inspired by the Superheroes' fence, we decided to bring out a T-Shirt and Hoodie in memory of the Medieval Characters displayed on the Superheroes' fence. We designed and printed 24 T-Shirts to honour Andrew De Moray and had to quickly re-order stock. Things have grown and we now have a superhero series remembering those who fought, died and survived during the Wars of Independence.

In 2022 I was fortunate to become a Trustee of the Guardians of Scotland Trust whose aim is to build a memorial sculpture to Andrew De Moray and William Wallace at Stirling Bridge. Molly's back legs began to fail and she retired from Tours. We bought Molly a buggy to help her continue to be part of the Stirling Welcome Team. For 2023, we chose to donate the fees from our Freedom Tours to the Guardians of Scotland Trust and the Strathleven Artizans.

Molly's Forever Home

Then something incredible happened. In July 2023 we moved to Stirling Bridge. Our garden looks out to where the long-gone wooden bridge collapsed during the Battle of Stirling Bridge over 700 years ago. We were now custodians of a lovely old cottage on the Auld Brig. Now we walk out our front door and we are on one of our Freedom Tours. This brings added responsibility and therefore, we litter pick the Battlefield 3-4 times per week to help keep it tidy for locals and tourists. 

There are so many magical moments and Molly memories. But like in Marley and Me, in case you haven’t realised it already, we lost our Lab/Collie Superhero. Molly crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on the 15th of February 2024. 

Molly brought us all together on Tours with her love of the Bannockburn Battlefield. Her favourite tennis balls gave us Freedom Tour Today and Scottish Heroes T-shirts & hoodies. Every day was a Molly Day filled with joy. She also asked her pal Claire at the Dogs Trust to find Oatly and Ayla to look after Kim and me. And so the adventures continue. 

Thank you to all those who have supported us on our journey and thank you for reading our journey to date. 

Kind regards and safe passage onward.

Steven (and Molly)