# Buchanan Castle - October 2015



## Brewtal (Nov 4, 2015)

During a nice scenic drive to Edinburgh from Fort William via Glencoe and Loch Lomond, we stopped at Buchanan Castle. After seeing an aerial shot of this place we had to see it for ourselves. This place was amazing!

Some history from Wikipedia:

Buchanan Castle is a ruined country house in Stirlingshire, Scotland, located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village of Drymen. Originally the home of the Buchanan family, it passed to the Grahams in the 17th century. The old house burned down in 1850, and the present house was built by James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose, in 1854. The roof was removed in 1954, but it remains the seat of the Clan Graham.

The estate was in the possession of the Buchanan family from at least 1231, but the family line failed in 1682. The estate was bought by James Graham, 3rd Marquess of Montrose (1657–1684), whose son became the 1st Duke of Montrose in 1707. The architect William Adam prepared designs for the house and parklands in 1745. In 1790 William Henry Playfair was commissioned by the 3rd Duke to design alterations to the house. James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose (1799–1874), and his wife raised and trained racehorses on the estate in the 19th century.

The old house was destroyed in a fire of 1850, and the duke commissioned William Burn to replace it. Burn designed an extravagant manor in the Scottish baronial style, enclosing an L-plan tower in a clutch of turrets, bartizans and stepped gables. The Dukes remained at Buchanan until 1925, when it was sold. In the 1930s the house opened as a hotel and the golf course was established in the grounds. Plans for residential development on the estate were delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War, during which the house was requisitioned. It was used as a hospital during the war, with patients including Rudolf Hess, who was brought here after his flight to Scotland in 1941. After the war the building served briefly as the Army School of Education. The roof was removed from the house in 1954 and outlying parts of the building were demolished. A number of residential buildings were subsequently built in the castle gardens and grounds.

Proposals were put forward for redevelopment of the house as flats in 2002 and 2004, though both applications were refused planning permission. The house is a category B listed building, and is included on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. The grounds of the house are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, the listing of nationally significant gardens in Scotland. The walls of the house remain intact to their full height and are considered to be in good condition. The ruins are progressively engulfed by trees and plants, and surrounded by a perimeter fence.

A ghost has been reported as haunting Buchanan Castle, manifesting itself as "Strange whisperings and sounds" during the "summer months between 23:00h and dawn". This was investigated by Peter Clive, Aidan Keane, Andrew Conway and Gavin Starks and found to be due to young owls nesting in one of the turrets."

We really enjoy the stealth aspect of exploring and being away from everything, I'm sure most of you do too. The place we parked up was a bit of a walk away, which was fine, but after walking a few miles in the countryside, turning a corner and you are all of a sudden walking past modern houses knowing you should be quite close to where you think you should be, and that there is a huge historic castle lurking in the trees somewhere was a very odd feeling. It wasn't at all how I imagined it to be. I am used to places like this being remote, so it was easy to think we were completely off track. But as soon as we caught the first glimpse of one of the turrets through the trees it started to feel real. I guess if we had approached from the other direction it would have been a bit more scenic!

As we quietly walked past the last of the houses and reached the edge of the surrounding trees and the excitement was starting to build, all of a sudden a fighter jet flew over very low above us. Great way to start an explore! I think the deafening roar made us appreciate how quiet and peaceful this place is.




































It is amazing how nature has reclaimed this place. 

















It is quite common to stumble across something that makes you go "what the...?"







...but finding a red balloon in the middle of an old castle is just weird!


Thanks for looking!


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## BikinGlynn (Nov 4, 2015)

Great report, loved the pics!


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## tumble112 (Nov 4, 2015)

I have been interested in the castle for a while, so thanks for posting. Always nice to see somewhere from the frozen north!


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## HughieD (Nov 4, 2015)

Wow...that's my kinda place. Great report.


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## rockfordstone (Nov 4, 2015)

love me a castle, thanks


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## MikeRace (Dec 14, 2015)

My Great Uncle Walter was a patient here in 1945, he was a career army man, serving in North Africa and also training as a glider pilot, sadly he passed away from Csncer and is buried in at Buchanan Castle cemetary, id planned on visiting this place but didnt get the time.


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## Trinpaul (Jan 13, 2016)

Any more foliage and you'd never think there was a castle beneath it!


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