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I love ghost stories (though I'm a reasonable person and I don't exactly believe in them). There are a couple of such legends in my family, passed on from generation to generation. One involves my great-granddad's meeting with an apparition of a hangman
, another one tells about my great-uncle's experience with a ghostly German soldier, but these aren't stories to tell here and now. I better stick to Scottish ghosts
The legend of five headless ghosts from Dunphail is locally known and popular - the story was even mentioned in M. Coventry's "The castles of Scotland". I was intrigued by this tale and hoped to visit the haunted ruin at some point of my explorations.
Dunphail is in my husband's delivery area and he knows all the tracks and private roads in this corner - otherwise it would be a bit tricky to locate this ruin! Last year we attempted to walk to the castle from the bridge over the river Divie (just past Randolph's Leap), but we only managed maybe 200m, the path here was boggy, the banks of the gorge collapsed in a few places, and eventually we were stopped by a pile of fallen trees. Still I didn't give up visiting the ruin and a good opportunity came during our September holidays, on a showery Tuesday, when weather wasn't nice enough to attempt a mountain yet acceptable for a shorter stroll.
The tracks around Dunphail House and along River Divie are all private but we assumed we wouldn't do any harm to the landowners if we simply walked along the tarmac road and stayed away from the buildings. We parked by the church near Divie Viaduct (there is a large, free car park by the war memorial) and enjoyed a short but nice stroll through the forest. An intense shower came and went after a few minutes, leaving the ground dotted with puddles. Even on a dry day it is practical to wear good hillwalking boots on this walk - the final climb to the castle is pathless and steep!
How to get there:
After 2.5km, past Dunphail House and a few more farms we came across a little pond. I stopped there to take a few photos and...
... suddenly Kevin grabbed my shoulder:
"Hey, look up there"! he pointed at the very top of the steep cliffs to the east of us...
And here it was...
Dunphail Castle!
It's hard to spot from the road below! We almost missed it!
We studied the approach to the ruin - it is situated on the very edge of the cliffs, overgrown from all sides and there is no path up! The only way to get close to this ruin is to simply tackle the steep slope. Here, good boots are very useful!
The vegetation was wet and somehow tricky to climb on but we were determined to finish what we started
and soon we were standing by the ruin. The first feature we encountered was a vaulted cellar:
Views west towards the river:
The castle was, according to "The castles of Scotland", a 14-th century stronghold of the Comrys and this vaulted cellar is most likely part of the original building. The main part of the ruin though, looks like a later structure, maybe 16-th or 17-th century tower house, but as I'm no expert on dating ruins then I can't say for sure.
Generally speaking, the ruin is in a VERY BAD condition, unsafe and unstable, we were very careful exploring it and we didn't venture inside the main building. It's much more dangerous than Castle Craig and even Boyne
. Another ruin soon to be lost.
Enjoy a short exploration of Dunphail Castle with us...
The much overgrown remains of the western wall:
A few stones from the collapsed wing:
Sometimes it's hard to say what's part of the ruin and what's just vegetation:
The Eastern side, still standing:
The house appears to have been built as an L-plan but again, this is just what we guesses, judging by the layer of the collapsed parts...
Ground floor entrance:
One of the few surviving window holes:
A look inside the existing wing:
All right, now when you tasted the climate of this place, let's get back to the infamous five headless ghosts. A paragraph from "They Still Serve: A Complete Guide to the Military Ghosts of Britain" by Richard McKenzie will tell the tale:
"Here Scottish folklore says there was a famous siege. The Earl of Moray was besieging the castle and the situation was desperate for the defenders. With food running low Alastair Cummings and a few brave companions escaped the blockading force and stealing some bags of meal threw them over the wall to feed their starving friends. Unfortunately these brave men were caught in the act and promptly beheaded. The severed heads were then thrown over the walls with the famous cry 'Here is beef for your bannocks!' The noise of fighting is said to still be heard both within and without the walls of this castle. The severed heads of Alastair and his companions are also claimed to appear from time to time within the castle."
Oh, I love spooky stories!!!
Just to be precise, the siege took place in 1330 and the cruel execution was ordered by the Regent Andrew Moray. The surviving remains of the garrison tried to flee, but were slaughtered by the Regent's men. In the 18th century five skull-less skeletons were found near the castle - does it prove the legend to be true?
Of course, as it was a bright day, all the ghosts were hidden away...
We said good-bye to Dunphail Castle and this time it probably is fighting a losing battle, the ruin is forgotten, falling apart and the way I see it, far beyond the saving point
We scrambled down the slope and headed back to the car park on the track. There are some very big trees along the road:
Just to show you the real size of these forest giants (mind you, they were all planted
):
It was still early enough to do some more lurking so we headed for Daltulich Bridge, but the second part of this walk will be posted in a separate TR, just to keep them shorter
I hope you enjoyed this spooky story, folks. From now on it will be more about mountains and climbing, but we're not finished with old ruins and surely we will discover more places like this in the North of Scotland. Meow!