William Wallace monument unveiled in Port Glasgow

Around 200 people flocked to Holy Family Church to see the new memorial dedicated to William Wallace.

Since 2014, a team of local activists have been working to create a monument in honour of the knight at the location where he is said to have been chained to an oak tree in 1305 before he was taken by English troops to London to be hung, drawn and quartered by order of King Edward 1 of England.

On Saturday, the grey granite sculpture in the shape of a tree trunk, built where the tree was known to have stood, was finally revealed to the public.

Scottish folk singer Alastair McDonald and Tartan Army favourite Ted Christopher performed on the day while Inverclyde MSP Stuart McMillan played the bagpipes.

There were speeches from people including dendrochronologist Dr Coralie Mills, who spoke about the history of the tree, and Gary Stewart, from the Society of William Wallace.

Young people who took part in a poetry competition - including winner Chei Gallacher - were presented with prizes in recognition of their talents.

Chei's poem has been etched onto the monument.

Medieval Scottish knights were there in full regalia and there was also a display of medieval weapons.

The Wallace Oak Project was set up by local men Cha Halliday, Stuart Duncan, Neil Lochiel and the late Sean Donnelly.

Neil said it was a fantastic day for everyone involved.

He added: "It was a very emotional day for us.

"There were so many more people there than we had anticipated.

Wallace tree and monument unveiled

"It was heartening to see so many there and to meet people from all over Scotland."

Individuals from all over the world - from as far afield as Italy, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Bulgaria, Canada and the US - also tuned in to watch a live stream of the event.

Neil says now that the monument is in place, it's time to think about how it can link into Inverclyde's tourism offering.

Wallace tree and monument unveiled

He added: "We've heard that people have been visiting it already, which is fantastic.

"We don't it want it to be something that's just 'there' and that's it."

Neil and the Wallace Oak Project team have been speaking to the team at Discover Inverclyde and hope that in time, cruise passengers arriving at Ocean Terminal could be directed to the memorial.

Neil hopes that the unveiling will also help to kickstart activity around another very important part of the project - the remaining part of the tree.

A chunk of the oak - which still has part of the chain embedded in it - is currently stored in a secret location in Port Glasgow.

Neil and the team are planning to make contact with Historic Environment Scotland to find out if the piece of history could be displayed somewhere in Inverclyde.

He added: "We've already had interest from people about the tree.

"It would be great if it could be displayed somewhere like Newark Castle.

"We're hoping that unveiling the monument will help us gather more momentum for that part of the project."