Scotland is an ancient land that boasts a colourful yet dark history that has seen it become a graveyard of sorts for all kinds of abandoned locations. Hospitals with abusive physicians, thriving communities that became ghost villages and a surplus of castles that endured bloody conflict are but a few examples of locations still, but barely, standing in today’s world that offer a glimpse into the past.
Regardless of how we feel about their legacy, what’s for sure is that these irreplaceable sites and their insight into history is being lost as they are left abandoned to fall into disrepair. Recently, we released a poll to our readers asking “Which Scottish building you would like to see restored” and what’s clear is that many people remain passionate about them.
Here are ten Scottish locations then and now that offer a sobering glimpse into the widespread disrepair we see across the country’s ancient architecture.
9. Mingulay
Mingulay is located at the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides. Despite over 2000 years of continuously being inhabited the island was abandoned by its Gaelic-speaking residents in 1912 and it has remained uninhabited since, now being owned and taken care of by the National Trust for Scotland. Photo: Submitted / Gordon Hatton via Wikimedia Commons
10. Dunalastair Mansion
Dunalastair is a ruined baronial mansion dating to the mid 19th century overlooking the eastern end of Loch Rannoch in the southern part of the Highlands in Perthshire. Considered "neither a castle, nor comfortable family home", it fell into decline during World War One as the staff required to run the massive house became scarce. Photo: Submitted / Trevor Littlewood via Wikimedia Commons