Scotland is a country famous for its ruins. Ancient broachs, fortresses and keeps cover the landscape, recalling tales of the distant past. Yet it is the hidden, seldom visited and more recent victims of abandonment which hold a particular fascination for me. You may see the vague silhouette of one of these sleeping giants at the end of a long driveway, lined with overgrown rhododendron or noble pine.
They are the forgotten country houses of Scotland.
Look beyond the well-known mansions maintained by preservation trusts and you will discover the fate of many of the country’s grandest dwellings. Generally built or remodelled over the last two centuries and abandoned mere decades ago, these once fine seats of Dukes and Lords have fallen from grace and can be found in a transient state between life and death, the passing of time marked only by the rampant advance of decay. At first glance they may appear a simple pile of stone, but look closely and the fragile beauty retained in those old walls becomes clear to see. These houses still have stories to tell, and in a certain light you may even catch a fleeting glimpse of the people who lived there a few short generations ago.