No sooner had the Scots entered the marsh at the foot of the hill than the first arrows began to descend. They continued to fall in great clouds as the schiltrons freed themselves from the marshy ground and began the ascent up Halidon Hill. Having lost all momentum they moved slowly upwards, so tightly packed that even the most indifferent archer could scarcely fail to hit his target. The shooting was so intense that many turned their faces away as if walking into a storm of sleet. The Lanercost Chronicle reports: ...the Scots who marched in the front were so wounded in the face and blinded by the multitude of English arrows that they could not help themselves, and soon began to turn their faces away from the blows of the arrows and fall. Casualties were heavy, with some of the finest troops falling dead or wounded on the lower reaches of the hill. The survivors crawled upwards, through the arrows and on to the waiting spears.