A mile south of Abbey Craig and the Wallace Monument, Cambuskenneth may have been named after Kenneth mac-Alpin who defeated the Picts at the Battle of Logie in the 9th century.
Cambuskenneth was an Augustinian abbey created by King David I in 1147. The Battle of Stirling Bridge took place nearby in 1297 when William Wallace defeated the invading English army.
Cambuskenneth was visited by King Edward I of England in 1303-1304 during one of his many invasions of Scotland. Robert the Bruce held a parliament at the abbey in 1326 to confirm that his son would become King David II. In the 15th century King James III and his wife were buried in the Abbey although they were moved by Queen Victoria in 1865.
During the Church Reformation the Abbey and its lands passed to the Governor of Stirling Castle and some of the stonework of the Abbey was used in the extension of the Castle. Only the foundations, a gateway and the late 13th or early 14th century great bell tower of the Abbey survive - the only example of a free-standing belfry in Scotland.
