This Jetty was part of the now-demolished Inverkip Power Station. The Jetty was used to accept deliveries of oil, which was used to fuel the power station.
The power station was built in the 70s, but with ever-increasing oil prices, it soon became clear that the power station was not viable. It was retained as a strategic reserve but was only used for a short period of time during the coal miners’ strike in the 1980s. The site was closed in 2006 and has since been demolished. The Oil Jetty is one of the very few remaining features on the site.
The Shielhill Glen Caves – Greenock
Shielhill Caves, located within Shielhill Glen in Greenock, is a natural cave under an overhanging rock that was modified in the 1930s by adding a facade to the front of the cave. The cave was mainly used to provide something to do for the unemployed during a period of financial depression.
As well as maintaining the cave, the people who used it would also tend to the grounds. It is believed that the cave was also used during WWII as a bomb shelter. There are very few images of the cave and none from the war period.
WWII Decoy Bunker
Decoy sites were used in WWII to lure enemy bombers away from their intended target and to a purpose-built fake target a safe distance away. Decoys were used to protect towns and cities as well as factories, industrial areas, airfields and military targets.
Decoys used fire, electric lighting or a mixture of both to trick bomber crews as they looked down into believing they were attacking their intended target. Decoys played an important role in protecting vital infrastructure and saving many lives. When walking in the area of a decoy site today, you can see large numbers of suspected bomb craters. This shows just how effective they were.
Loch Long Torpedo Test site
The torpedo test range at Loch Long was built in 1912 and was finally abandoned in 1987. This site would certainly have been involved in the testing of new torpedo systems designed for the Royal Navy during both world wars.
Since becoming abandoned, there has been at least one serious fire that destroyed the entire main building. All that remains is the concrete and steel shell and the piers. There are various smaller buildings in varying stages of decay around the main complex. Today, it is popular with people fishing and people enjoying the spectacular views over the western highlands.
St Peter’s Seminary
St. Peter’s Seminary is a modernist Catholic seminary located near Cardross, Scotland. It was designed by the architect James Stirling and completed in 1966. The building is considered to be one of the finest examples of modernist architecture in the United Kingdom and is a Grade A-listed building.
St. Peter’s Seminary was built to accommodate up to 80 seminarians, who would live and study there as they prepared for the priesthood. The seminary included a chapel, classrooms, and living quarters, as well as extensive grounds and gardens.
However, the seminary faced a number of challenges in its early years, including declining enrollment and financial difficulties. These issues, combined with changes in the Catholic Church’s approach to training priests, led to the seminary’s closure in 1980.
In the decades since its closure, the seminary has fallen into disrepair and has been the subject of various redevelopment proposals. It is currently owned by the Archdiocese of Glasgow, which has been working to restore the building and find a new use for it. Despite its current state of disrepair, St. Peter’s Seminary remains an important and influential example of modernist architecture.
Dunaskin Trains
On the site of the former iron works at Dunaskin, you can see various abandoned trains and rolling stock.
There are many trains that are certainly in very poor condition, but some have been restored and are secured at the site. The railway operates on a seasonal basis. Please visit their website for further details.
Cramond Island
A small island within the Firth of Forth that was used during both world wars as part of the east coast’s Forth coastal defence in Scotland
The island contains the remains of buildings from WWI and WWII. There is also evidence to suggest the island may have also been occupied by the Romans.
Because the Forth is tidal, there are only certain times of day when it is possible and safe to make the crossing by foot from the mainland. If you do decide to visit Cramond Island, please make sure you check the tide times carefully and leave yourself plenty of time to return from the island.
Video of the former Wemyss Bay Hotel
Wemyss Bay Hotel. A once very popular hotel on the West coast of Scotland is now abandoned, derelict and a ruin.
The building is awaiting demolition to make way for future retail development. Within the hotel, you can still see the bars, seating areas and dining rooms.
There is very little in the way of graffiti or vandalism, although the building is in very poor condition.
Update: The entire building has now been demolished following a serious fire. The site is now been redeveloped and is home to Coop food shop.
IBM Greenock Factory
The Spango Valley IBM factory was opened in Greenock in the 1950s
During IBM’s time in Greenock, the site was used for the production of office equipment such as typewriters and photocopiers. It was during the 90s when the Greenock IBM plant was in full swing, building thousands of PCs every day. At one point, the Greenock IBM facility employed up to 5000 people. IBM also outsourced to other factories in the locality. Mimtec (Laterally Fullerton Computer Industries) where a large-scale non-IBM assembler of IBM pc’s. Since IBM stopped their PC activity, this site has been taken over by Amazon and is one of its UK fulfilment centres.
The IBM facility in this video is currently being demolished to make way for future development.
Balrossie
Balrossie School was first opened in 1899 as an orphanage for the children of sailors. The building was later adapted to become an approved school for boys. The building was last used in the mid-nineties and is now sadly a ruin.
There has been a lot of vandalism at Balrossie, and sections of the building have fallen into a state of disrepair. There are areas of the building that can only be described as dangerous. The future for this once-great building does not look good.
