Nothing but hardcore ghost huntin'

Craignethan Castle

What I learned most about Mark is whenever he told me it would be a wee walk or a wee drive , I was to expect nothing less than a mile walk and a hour to a hour and a half drive . With that aside I must say whenever I needed help , he was there to carry me or help me crawl over stone walls with out me even having to ask . On one walk to another castle ( Goblin Hall ) he even made me a walking stick . But I'll get into that wee walk on that page ! This wee walk that Mark took me on my last night in Scotland was a mile and a half all downhill . So that means on the way back a mile and a half all uphill . Craignethan Castle is perched on a promontory between the River Nethan and a minor burn . It is a yellow sandstone fortress , the last private castle of its type in Scotland . Built between 1530 - 1545 by Sir James Hamilton . The structure exhibits many unique features . From the approach one avenue passes through the outer gate into the outer court .To the left is a doocot tower of around 1579 , to the right the Scot's domestic range known as Andrew Hay's House , erected in 1665 . A footbridge crosses the ditch to the inner court or close , where the great rampart is now little more than the foundations . A spiral staircase drops down into the caponier , which is a unique defensive structure that allows those defending the castle to shoot anyone crossing the ditch . The caponier was only discovered in 1962 . The tower is entered from the close . A stair to the right drops into cellars that used to be a prison . The hall takes up the ground floor , as does the kitchen , though only a serving hatch connects them . Only part of the hall's vault survives , but the minstrel's gallery remains . Above are the remnants of four chambers and a mezzanine floor . To the east of the tower are vaulted cellars , one was a brewtower and may have had a first floor chapel . Mary Queen of Scots is known to have visited here a couple of times . In the cellar that is thought to have once been a prison I caught 9 different ectoplasmic vapors following us around .