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All the United Kingdom Scotland Drymen Buchanan Castle
AO Edited

Buchanan Castle

This castle was established by the 4th Duke of Montrose and is connected to the Buchanan Clan.

Drymen, Scotland

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chowker
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Buchanan Castle   chowker / Atlas Obscura User
Buchanan Castle   chowker / Atlas Obscura User
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Buchanan Castle as it once looked.   Wikipedia
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Part of the fun is just finding this place.  
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About

The stately Buchanan Castle was once a grand Scottish country house before it was swept up in World War II and subsequently abandoned to the overgrowth.

After the first castle built on the site burned to the ground in 1850, Buchanan Castle was built on its ashes to serve as the grand home of a family of dukes. The house was built in the traditional baronial style with pointed towers and asymmetrical living areas to give the royalty the opulent house they felt they deserved. The royals lived in the house until 1925 when the home was turned into a hotel complete with a golf course.

However, once the Second World War began, the estate was taken over for the war effort and turned into a hospital. During this time, the stately house of healing saw a number those wounded in the war, most famously attending to Rudolph Hess, Hitler's right-hand man, after he flew to Scotland in 1941. After the war ended the building was briefly used as a school, but was eventually partially demolished and left to nature.

Today, the golf course remains and is still in use, but the castle grounds themselves are covered in creeping plants that are slowly covering all of the still-standing walls.   

Update as of April 2021: The castle is now fenced off and best viewed from a safe distance. 

Related Tags

Castles Ruins Military History Military

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Located between Buchanan Castle Golf Club and the housing estate.

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Flavors of Scotland: Beyond the Haggis

Smoked seafood, single malt whisky, and warm hospitality.

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Community Contributors

Added By

chowker

Edited By

Rachel, cmwhite, ssm67alba, pornoisebestyen...

  • Rachel
  • cmwhite
  • ssm67alba
  • pornoisebestyen
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Razz

Published

December 19, 2013

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Sources
  • http://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/search/postcode/G63%200HY/event_id/891811/building_name/buchanan-castle-buchanan-castle-policies
  • http://data.historic-scotland.gov.uk/pls/htmldb/f?p=2400:15:0::::GARDEN:GDL00077#history
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchanan_Castle
Buchanan Castle
Drymen, Scotland, G63 0BH
United Kingdom
56.065488, -4.44996

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