Castle Semple Collegiate Church

Within the grounds of Castle Semple Regional Park, there are the ruins of the former Collegiate church. The church was built as a place of worship serving the former Castle Semple. The castle is long gone, and there is no trace of the building today, with only the church remaining.

The church building is solid, and the grounds are maintained. The building has no roof, but it does appear that the building has been preserved to prevent further deterioration.

The church is Gothic in style and is believed to date back to 1504. The church was founded by Lord Sempill, who lost his life at the battle of Flodden in 1513. When he was killed, his son had the church building altered and extended to accommodate his late father’s tomb.

Abandoned care home

In this video, we got the opportunity to explore a former nursing home in Scotland. We had been watching this location for a couple of years, but on a recent visit, we saw that access to the building was possible.

As urban explorers, we NEVER break into a location. This is one of the key rules of urban exploration…

Take nothing but images, leave nothing but footprints, break nothing but silence.

When we were finally able to enter the building, we found it looked to be in structurally good condition, but the fabric of the building is certainly starting to decay. We believe this building has been abandoned for approximately 10 years.

There are currently no plans laid out for this building, and we suspect it will be allowed to deteriorate further. It is in a prime location for future property development, so this building is likely to be demolished at some point in the future.

Once a building like this is gone, it’s gone. That’s why we view urban exploration as recording history…

Abandoned Mansion

Sometimes, when you look at a ruin of an abandoned building, you can still see it as a stunning piece of architecture. This building is a case in point.

It was built in 1833 as a family home. It later became a school for children in the surrounding rural area. Today, the building has been abandoned for several decades and is now in a sad state of repair. The structure remains solid, but the fabric of the building has been exposed to the elements and is now crumbling.

Buildings like this are rare and should be protected. This structure will no doubt continue to deteriorate, and its condition will only get worse unless work to preserve the building is carried out.

In our video, we have a look around the exterior of the property and also have a look inside the building. Externally, the structure does look to be mostly sound. It’s once you get inside that you can see the damage the years of being exposed to the elements have done. Water ingress is slowly but surely rotting the fabric of the building away.

Abandoned Lennox Castle

Lennox Castle Hospital was a hospital located in Lennoxtown near Glasgow in Scotland. The hospital opened in the 1930s and was closed in 2002.

All that remains on the site today is the main “castle” building. The building was never a true castle, it was just built in the style of a castle.

Lennox Castle Hospital was built with the intention of providing excellent care for patients with mental deficiencies, but due to overcrowding and funding shortages, the hospital fell far short of achieving this goal. Many patients who stayed at Lennox Castle Hospital were treated very poorly. There have been claims that the treatment of patients at the hospital was inhumane. In one report, it was pointed out that many patients at the hospital were seriously underweight and malnourished. There have also been claims of physical and mental abuse towards patients from members of staff.

It has been suggested that many of the patients who were effectively locked up at Lennox Castle had no real mental illness and had no reason for being detained. There are stories of patients being held at Lennox Castle for decades before being released.

When Lennox Castle finally closed in 2002 many former patients were reintegrated into the community. Others were moved to more suitable locations where they can receive the care they need and deserve. 

We can only hope that lessons have been learned from Lennox Castle Hospital.

Ardrossan Castle ruins

Ardrossan Castle is a ruinous castle located within the town of Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland.

The ruins currently occupying the site are the 2nd castle to have been constructed at that location. The original castle was built by the Barclay family. The current castle is believed to date back to the 13th century.

The castle was destroyed in 1648 by Oliver Cromwell and his troops. Much of the masonry used in the castle was taken to Ayr, where it was reused to build the Ayr Citadel.

What remains at Ardrossan Castle is nothing more than a ruin, and the buildings are in an unsafe condition. It is, however, a grade-A listed structure.

As well as the ruins that can be seen above ground, there are also at least two underground areas that are currently locked and not accessible. One is believed to be a well, and the other is what remains of the cellars. No access is possible to these areas because they have been gated and locked in the interest of safety.

Ardrossan Castle is well worth a visit to have a look around. The area also provides great panoramic views out over the west coast. You can see the Isle of Aran and  Alsa Craig on a clear day.

Old Churchyard

In this video, we paid a visit to an old church graveyard located in Inverkip on the west coast of Scotland.

The cemetery is no longer an active burial ground, but it does contain a lot of fairly impressive gravestones for such a small cemetery. It is always interesting to get the chance to look at older gravestones from times gone by. They are so much grander than what we would expect to see in a currently used burial site.

The churchyard contains the mausoleum of the Shaw Stewart family, who were local landowners and baronets. The mausoleum is the final resting place for many generations of the family.

It is also the final resting place of James Young (James “Paraffin” Young), who is credited with inventing paraffin oil. He is buried alongside his wife (Mary Young) with an ornate memorial.

The grass in the cemetery is well looked after by the local council, but many of the headstones and graves have been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. It would be nice moving forward if there were an effort to preserve and maintain the remains of the churchyard.

Former submarine dry dock

This dry dock is located in the town of Greenock in Scotland. It is often referred to as the submarine dock because it was laterally involved in the construction and maintenance of submarines.

The dock was built in 1810 as part of the former Steele’s shipyard at Cartside, Greenock. It was later taken over by Scott Lithgow shipbuilders.

The dry dock is believed to be one of the oldest dry docks in the UK. The style of this dock is referred to as a graving dock.

The dry dock steel water gates are still in place, although they are not the original gates. The dry dock also has a basin leading in from the River Clyde. There are various pieces of manual machinery by the dockside, including a capstan winch on either side. There are also iron rings positioned along either side of the dock edge.

The Dry Dock was abandoned in 1987 when Scott Lithgow’s shipyard was closed. All the buildings were removed, leaving only the dock and basin.

The dry dock is listed by Historic Environment Scotland.

Glenbrae Farm

This location was spotted on Google Earth. It just looked like a mark on the land. I then looked at the area using old maps provided online by the National Library of Scotland and confirmed it was an old farm building called Glenbrae Farm. This is located within the Corlic Hill area of Inverclyde.

There were also several other ruins within the same geographical area, but we decided to hike out and take a look at this particular one because it was the first we had spotted. We will be going back to film and document the other ruins as time permits.

The area we were travelling to involved a hike of only a few miles, but provided some spectacular views and scenery. We have included some scenery from the walk within the exploration video.

At the location, we also came across some old farming machinery and an old engine block within the remains of the building. I imagine the engine may have formed part of a generator at some point.

We also took our Parrot Anafi drone to capture some aerial footage of the remains.

The Prophets Grave

The prophet’s grave is a historic location in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It marks the final resting place of The Rev William Smith.

William Smith died as a result of the plague in the year 1647. He was 28 years of age and had been the local minister for approximately 3 years.

As he became ill, he continued to preach to his flock for as long as possible. In those days, very little was known about infectious diseases, and the concept of contagious diseases was not understood. It is thought that William Smith was struck down with Typhoid Fever. In those times, many put illness and disease down to an act of God.

William Smith became known as the Prophet based on what he said on his deathbed. He decided where he wished to be laid to rest, he also said that two holly trees were planted by his grave (one at each end). So long as the trees did not touch each other, the local area would never be affected by the plague again.

Cholera struck the town at least twice in the 1830s, however, it is not known if the holly trees were touching or not. Maybe William Smith was specifically referring to typhoid fever.

The Prophet’s Grave is also known as “The Minister’s Grave” and “Smith’s Grave”.

Fairlie Castle

Fairlie Castle is believed to date back to 1512. It was built by Robert Fairlie. His family owned the land dating back to the 14th century.

The castle was the centrepiece of a large area of ground that was used for gardens and orchards. Today, you can still see evidence of a well-defined cobble path that was probably a major route through the estate.

The castle itself appears to be undergoing restoration work. It is also believed that there are plans to convert the castle into a dwelling house. Permission was granted for the scaffolding and various surveys, but planning permission has yet to be lodged for the final alterations. The scaffolding has now been in place for a couple of years.

It would be great to see this incredible building put back to its intended purpose rather than being left as a ruin.