The book Arran; - Cook Clan

ARRAN IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 31
upon which Douglas raUied his men to meet them, but the
EngUsh turned at the sight and fled back, with the Scots hard
at their heels and cutting them down up to the very castle gate.
The men in the boats, seeing this direful happening, hurriedly
put to sea again, but a land breeze rose, so that they could
neither land nor ride it out, and two of the three boats were
swamped : no doubt they were undermanned. Nothing
more could be done, so Douglas and his men helped them-
selves to the underwarden's stores and, well content, returned
to a strong position in a ' woody glen,' ^ which, from
all circumstances, we may guess was that known later as
Glencloy.
It was ten days afterwards that King Robert, with his
whole company of about three hundred men in thirty-three
small galleys, followed to Arran and took lodging ' in a
toune,' that is, according to old Scottish usage, in a farmtown
or hamlet.^ As he was to launch his fleet, to cross to
the mainland, from the spot where he had originally landed
—having made no move by sea in the interval—and as this
was where he could look across to Turnberry, it is clear that
his landing was on the east side ; moreover, it was not
very far from Douglas's position—very probably at Whiting
Bay. Inquiring about any strangers who had recently
come to the island, Bruce was informed by a woman how a
band had quite recently inflicted defeat and loss upon the
Warden and were now in a ' stalward place ' not far away.
She led him to the ' woody glen ' in which she had seen the
• ' Syne till a strait thai held thair way,
A sted ... in a woddy glen.'
Tht Bruce, bk. iv. II. 458, 491-92.
^ ' The King arivit in Arane ;
And syne to the land is gane.
And in a toune tuk his herbery.'
The Bruce, bk. iv. 11. 464-66.
The popular story of Bruce's occupation of the King's Cave on the west coast has
thus no foundation in fact. The association with Loch Ranza is due to Sir Walter
Scott.