As the Royalist soldiers scattered, the ferocious Highlanders threw down their muskets and continued the fray with the flash of cold steel. It had been the death in 1286 of Scotland’s King Alexander 111, that set in motion a chain of events that would bring Scotland into open conflict with Edward 1st of England and, ultimately, start Wallace on his path of outlawry, freedom fighting, martyrdom and immortality.

A few weeks later, she came across a portrait of the first Earl of Leven, and immediately recognised him as the revenant she had seen. Under Alexander’s rule the Scots had enjoyed twenty years of peace, both at home and abroad, and were basking in a period of prosperity buoyed up by a thriving export trade.It nestles in quiet seclusion, almost lost amidst tranquil countryside, and to delve into its rambling ruins is to walk in the footsteps of Kings and Queens, not to mention a rich array of historical and legendary figures from Scotland’s past. The distraught child revealed that she had lost her doll and felt very lonely and unhappy as a result. Moved by her plight, the television crew bought her a doll and left it in the room.

In 1284 the King had named as his successor to the Scottish throne his granddaughter, Margaret, (‘The Maid of Norway’). At the age of twenty five he married Hariott Steuart of Auchlunchart, and set about turning Leith Hall into a suitable family home. She bore him three sons and was pregnant with a fourth when, just before Christmas 1763, John rode to Aberdeen to dine with friends. Copious amounts of alcohol flowed at the meal and John reacted angrily when one of the diners accused him of adulterating the grain sold from Leith Hall. It was with the opening of a main road along the north shore of the loch in 1933, that the modern interest in Nessie began. Sir John Dalrymple, Secretary of State for Scotland, seized the opportunity to make an example of the Macdonald’s by "rooting out that damnable sect, the worst in all the Highlands." One of the earliest owners of Hermitage Castle was Sir William Douglas "the Knight of Liddesdale" who wrested it from the clutches of its then occupant, the Englishman Sir Ralph de Neville in 1338.The history steeped walls of Meldrum House sit peaceably amidst glorious surroundings of woodland and parkland. But history remains mute about his activities until in 1305, betrayed by one of his own countrymen, he was captured and taken to London. Once inside you find yourself almost overwhelmed by the vastness of the stone walls that soar six storeys above you. But to return to the ghostly mariner. His roving shade has been encountered by many guests and all have commented on how solid and real he looks. Indeed many of them have not even realised his true nature until they have asked Scott or Cathy who he is and are told that they have been honoured with a sighting of the house’s ghost. Unfortunately, this was soon revealed to have been a hoax perpetrated with the aid of a dried hippopotamus foot, otherwise being used as an umbrella stand!

One of the more infamous of its residents was Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, whose mob of "wyld wykkd Heland-men" torched the town of Elgin in 1390 and burnt its Cathedral. Built in the 14th century, and massively strengthened in the 16th century when it became an artillery fortress, it has also been a Royal Castle, an armaments depot and a State prison. In 1933, The Highland Ghost was reportedly captured on film, though there is a debate about the validity of the footage. The whole valley echoed to the anguished screams of the injured and dying. As the first rays of dawn illuminated the grisly scene, the snow was red with Macdonald blood, and thirty-eight members of the clan lay butchered.

Ardrossan is a small town in North Ayrshire, from which CalMac Ferries travel to Arran and Campbeltown. Located just around the bay from this busy port on a high ascent are the ruins of Ardrossan Castle.

On 10th September 1297, William Wallace stood upon the lofty heights of Abbey Craig - where Scotland’s national memorial to him now stands - and gazed across the River Forth at the English held stronghold of Stirling Castle. A female ghost of unknown identity but dressed in the garb of the 18th century has also been seen about the property, whilst ghostly footsteps, slamming doors have also been known to shatter the silence of the night hours.On Skye there is a well documented story about a ghost car that races along with blazing lights on the roads near Sligachan. The car has been reported by Doctors and Policemen and there is a general consensus that it is a 1934 Austin. I’ve never seen the ghost car and I don’t know of anyone with firsthand experience of it, but it is a story that has fascinated me since I was a boy and I have tried to find out which road it appears on. The Great Hall, which is the only room never to have been remodelled, still retains many of its original fixtures, and is imbued with a uniquely historic atmosphere chilling yet tranquil. It is a candlelit place of dancing shadows, where reports of indistinct shapes seen flitting around its darker recesses, or the oft heard sound of disembodied voices engaged in indecipherable conversation, are sufficient to send uncanny shivers down the spine.