The question of the exact site of the battle has provoked a good deal of dispute. Tradition favours the ground between the Borestone Hill and the burn, and this most likely was the scene of the skirmish that followed the death of de Bohun. The great conflict of the ensuing day, however, seems to have been fought out on the low land near the confluence of the Bannock and the Forth, where the English, hemmed in by the two streams, were unable to take advantage of their superiority in numbers.[20] The Lanercost chronicler mentions that he heard from an eye-witness that the English in the rear were unable to fight owing to the leading division being in the way, and that there was nothing they could do but take to flight. Barbour states that after the battle the King of England fled to Stirling Castle, but was counselled by Mowbray to depart with all speed, as the place could no longer be held. There are people who find it impossible to believe this and another statement by the same writer to the effect that many fugitives sought refuge on the castle rock, for the most obvious way of retreat would be south-eastwards, across the Bannock. Great weight, however, must be given to Barbour’s account, for the poet derived his information from men who had actually fought in those wars, and in many cases his testimony is corroborated by other records and documents. The _Scalacronica_ makes Sir Giles de Argentine urge the King to flee to the castle. The author of that work, Sir Thomas Gray, no doubt acquired his knowledge from his father, who witnessed but did not take part in the battle, having been brought by Randolph to the Scottish camp after the engagement with Clifford. Most of the fugitives probably escaped across the Bannock, but doubtless some found their way to the castle past the Scottish left flank; and it must be remembered that King Robert kept his men well in hand and would not allow them to begin the pursuit till the day was indisputably won, lest their foes, realising the strength of their own numbers, should make a successful rally. History furnishes other examples of portions of defeated armies retreating round and behind their conquerors. It is well known that after the Battle of Prestonpans, Sir John Cope’s soldiers fled in all directions except towards the Firth of Forth. [Illustration: THE PROSPECT OF STIRLING CASTLE. From Engraving by Captain John Slezer, _circa_ 1693.] Stirling Castle surrendered on the following day, and Sir Philip Mowbray transferred his allegiance to the King of Scots when he handed over the keys of the fortress. Bruce, in accordance with his policy of dismantling all strongholds that might harbour English garrisons, destroyed the fortifications, but in his later years he sometimes resided within its weakened walls.