 King David gladly obliged and sallied forth into England with 12,000 men who wrecked and plundered parts of Cumberland and Northumberland before entering Durham where they made camp at Bearpark to the west of the city.The Scots were divided into three factions under the respective commands of King David, the Earl of Moray and Sir William Douglas.On 17 October, Sir William Douglas allowed his men to go on a rampage throughout Durham straying as far south as Ferryhill where to their surprise they encountered part of an English army of some 6,000 to 7,000 which pursued them north.