Stirling Castle is lies just two miles from Bannockburn's fields, and you can see it looming in the distance, perched on another of those rocky outcrops that proved so defensible. It was said for years that "He who controls Stirling, controls Scotland" because for so long it was the only crossing point over the Forth and up into the highlands for people moving in any number.
The building you see is not what Robert the Bruce fought to defend. He burned THAT castle to the ground as part of his scorched earth policy after winning at Bannockburn in 1314. (Interesting concept - to fight so hard to become 'lord of all you set fire to'....)
However, Stirling was the principal home of virtually all the Stewart kings (aka the Stuart kings of England, courtesy of Elizabeth I, who died childless, leaving her nephew James VI of Scotland, her heir) so the palace grew as each successive monarch sought to leave their glorious mark. Mary, Queen of Scots was born here, although once the Scottish crown went south, the place was turned over to the military and turned into an out and out fortress. Carefull restoration means the feasting hall, royal apartments and kitchens (the best I'd seen - until I went to Hampton Court... but that's another story) tell tales of courtly life, with food and feasts documented in meticulous detail. Yum....
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