Blog
20+ Strange Places in Scotland You Didn’t Know About
Coming up: a pyramid, some people, tiny little coffins, a sandy airport, some abandoned houses, lots of islands, a road built by just one man, a big bunch of conspiracy theories, and 24 strange spots in Scotland you didn’t know about.
🏴 Scotland is home to LOTS of surprising and surreal sites.
… but, naturally, they’re largely overshadowed by the nation’s most famous places (like Loch Ness and Ben Nevis and Edinburgh).
🤩 But if you know where to look, you’ll find lots of unique and unusual stuff:
And because I’ve spent years in Scotland, I do know where to find all these unexpected oddities. So, in this guide, I’ve helped you do exactly the same: here are 24 strange places in Scotland you didn’t know existed. On we go!
24. The Arthur’s Seat Coffins
They’re strange because: these creepy little dolls are probably replicas of murder victims
We’re kicking things off with something sinister in Edinburgh.
💀 For some context, Burke and Hare were two Irish-born men living in Edinburgh. They became notorious in the 1820s for murdering people, then selling their bodies to medical schools 💀
The Burke & Hare Murder Dolls (also known as ‘The Arthur’s Seat Coffins’) were found around a decade after Burke and Hare were caught. Each of these creepy little dolls were hidden in their own miniature coffin, tucked away in Arthur’s Seat (that’s Edinburgh’s famous city-park mini-mountain; which is also very worth visiting) 🌳
Although it’s generally agreed that the 17 mysterious little 4-inch (10cm) dolls are associated with the crimes of Burke and Hare, no one knows for sure.
Anyway, you can find these creepy little dolls in Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland—which also features other weird and unsettling exhibits, like a tiny taxidermied ‘merman,’ a Victorian death mask collection, and a full-size medieval guillotine. Cool 😬
23. Castle Stalker
It’s strange because: it’s only accessible by boat
Slightly east of the Isle of Mull, Castle Stalker sits on a tiny island just off Scotland’s west coast.
Once exchanged as part of a drunken bet(!), it’s only accessible by boat (and only if you book an official tour on the official site).
It’s only little, and there’s not much to do there—but it’s one of the most scenic places you’ve ever seen. With its mountainous backdrop and misty atmosphere, it’s like something from a fantasy movie. Oh, and it was featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail! 😲
For more, here are our 18 favorite castles in Scotland.
22. An Airplane Over the Orkney Islands
It’s strange because: it’s a 1-minute flight
✈️ Up in the Orkney Islands (they’re a cluster of about 70 islands off Scotland’s north coast), you’ll find the world’s shortest flight ✈️
The tiny propellor-powered craft connects little Westray (population around 600) to the even-littler Papa Westray (population around 90). The two islands are only 2.7km (1.7 miles) apart… and the flight usually only takes around 60 seconds.
For more, here’s everything you need to know about the shortest flight in the world.
21. The Most Remote Pub in the UK
It’s strange because: most people spend two days hiking to get here
🍺 British people LOVE pubs.
… and most of them are, of course, very easy to reach. So, ya know, you can stumble home after a drunken visit.
But The Old Forge, which sits on the Scottish mainland coast, close to the Isle of Skye, is almost laughably inaccessible. There are only two ways to get here:
- Sea ferry
- A two-day, 18-mile (29km) hike across the Scottish Highlands. And Kinloch Hourn, where you start your hike, is allegedly the longest dead-end road in Britain (AND sits at the end of a curvy, hairpin-bent ride)
Admittedly, the pub itself isn’t particularly special… but anything this remote is always worth visiting 🙏
20. All the Spooky and Scary Edinburgh Tours (Including Visits to the Infamous Mary King’s Close)
They’re strange because: Edinburgh’s history is A LOT more grim and grisly than most people expect
Although this isn’t just one attraction, Edinburgh is a place with lots of spooky history—and you can take many tours to explore it all. Some of the best include:
🌑 Any of the tours that head underground will take you to the infamous Mary King’s Close, a cramped subterranean maze of 17th-century streets where people once lived, worked, and quietly died. These rooms and streets were frozen in time, when town planners decided to build new streets on top of the old ones 🌑
For way more interactive Edinburgh experiences, here’s our guide to the 18 best tours in (and from) Edinburgh.
19. The Cape Wrath Trail
It’s strange because: it’s WAY MORE than just a standard multi-day hike
🏴 Scotland is the best country I’ve ever visited for hiking (in terms of beauty, variety, infrastructure, and options).
… and many of the hikes are very simple and accessible (and some are very easy).
⛰️ But The Cape Wrath Trail is a big intimidating unusual beast—and it’s notorious for being the nation’s most remote and challenging hike:
It runs all the way from Fort William to Cape Wrath (the most northwesterly point of mainland Scotland). But it’s not waymarked, there’s no official way to do it, the landscape is exceptionally remote, unforgiving, and rugged, and the weather in this part of Scotland is very unpredictable.
From point to point, the distance between Fort William and Cape Wrath is 109 miles (175 km)… though the usual mileage of the actual hike is around 230 miles (370 km).
In short, it’s not just a hike. Instead, it’s a puzzle, a mental challenge, and one of the most unusual outdoor adventures you’ll ever have.
Here’s one of the ways (and the most common way!) to tackle the route (but there are endless other options).
🥾 For more Scottish hikes, stroll on over to our guides on:
18. Rosslyn Chapel
It’s strange because: this unusual religious building has inspired LOADS of speculation, cynicism, and conspiracy theories
Also known as ‘Roslin Chapel,’ this place is famous for serving as an inspiration for the Da Vinci Code.
⛪ Sitting in a little village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Rosslyn Chapel is famous for all its intricate Gothic carvings. And because both filmmaking and photography are banned inside, the only way to really see these carvings is…
… by visiting the place.
Almost every surface is carved with symbols—including Knights Templar motifs, weird ‘Green Men,’ upside-down angels, fanged figures, some creepy evil imagery, and cryptic scenes that people still argue about.
Some think the chapel hides secret chambers, lost treasure, or clues to ancient societies… but other people simply accept it as one of Scotland’s weirdest and most intricate examples of expert sculpture 👼 Whatever you think, it’s absolutely worth a visit!
17. Calum’s Road
It’s strange because: it’s a one-man symbol of struggle and stubbornness
On the tiny Scottish island of Raasay (population around 160), one man decided to spend a huge chunk of his life on a small-but-ambitious project ⛏️
Starting in the early 1960s, one of Raasay’s villagers, Calum MacLeod, spent 20 years carving out two miles (3.2km) of track, all alone, after local authorities refused to do it.
He did the whole thing with a pick, an axe, a wheelbarrow, and a shovel. In 1982, after Calum completed the job, it was then fully tarmaced (coated in asphalt, to you Americans) by the island’s authorities. Calum laughed at this, telling local reporters “it’ll be like an autobahn when they’ve finished.” What a hero.
16. The Island of Eigg
It’s strange because: this place is collectively owned by its 110 eco-friendly residents
Back in 1997, Eigg’s small bunch of inhabitants decided to collectively buy the island’s legal ownership, pooling together £1.5 million (around $2,000,000USD) to do it. 💸
These days, 95% of the island’s electricity comes from renewables, while it’s also home to lots of organic farming and other eco-friendly projects.
Top highlights of a visit here include interactive ecological courses, lots of dolphins and minke whales, the hike up the Sgùrr of Eigg, and a bunch of hiking and cycling.
🚢 You get here via the 80-minute ferry from super-beautiful Mallaig.
15. The Bealach Na Ba
It’s strange because: sometimes terrifying things are fun
🚘 This is Scotland’s most notorious road 🚘
Sitting in northwest Scotland (and part of the North Coast 500—the best road trip I’ve ever been on anywhere in the world!), The Bealach Na Ba climbs more than 600 meters (2,000 feet) over only 6 miles (10km).
Highlights include super-tight switchbacks, steep inclines, incredible views, Highland cows, nervous laughter, and the creeping feeling that your engine might explode 😬
For confident drivers, it’s incredible. For not-confident drivers, it’s nightmarish.
14. The Secret Balmoral Pyramid
It’s strange because: it’s a pyramid… in Scotland
This mysterious pyramid is located on a remote, lesser-known part of the Balmoral Estate (the massive Balmoral Estate is one of the UK’s countryside private royal residences—where big-name royals often spend their summers).
Its history is very surprising:
Back in 1840, the UK’s Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. The pair of them were obsessed with walking, and pretty views, and exploring the Scottish countryside. So, as a romantic gift, Albert bought and renovated Balmoral for his wife.
To honor that purchase, they built a small pyramid-shaped cairn on the grounds of the estate—Victoria laid the first stone, and Albert laid the last one 🧱
They then got into the habit of building cairns, constructing a new cairn each time one of their kids got married (and there were 9 weddings, which took them to a total of 9 cairns).
😓 So, when Albert died suddenly in 1861, Victoria built the biggest cairn yet, to pay tribute to her husband. It has a maximum height of 10.6 meters (35 feet).
Finished in 1862, that big pyramid-shaped cairn is inscribed: “To the beloved memory of Albert the great and good Prince Consort. Erected by his broken hearted widow Victoria R. 21st August 1862.”
For much more, here’s everything you need to know about Scotland’s secret pyramid.
13. Orkney’s Italian Chapel
It’s strange because: it REALLY doesn’t feel like it belongs here
Sitting on one of the smallest Orkney Islands (located around 10 miles/16km north of the northern Scottish mainland), this small, striking, and colorful chapel was built by Italian prisoners of war during the Second World War ⛪
🪖 Made from the shells of two military huts (along with concrete, scraps of metal, and other pieces of found materials), it’s full of painted arches, delicate artwork, many bold colors, and lots more detail than you’ll expect. Architecturally, it’s VERY different to most religious buildings in Scotland.
Orkney’s Italian Chapel is a massive testament to faith, desperation, and perseverance—and if you’re very lucky, there might even be some Highland cows roaming around! 🐄
If you’re in the area, it’s absolutely worth a visit.
12. Scotland’s Secret Bunker
It’s strange because: it was built as a nuclear escape!
Billed as “Scotland’s best kept secret for over 40 years,” this former nuclear bunker is hidden beneath a humble and ‘normal’ Scottish farmhouse.
Now a Cold War museum, it’s much bigger than anyone ever expects, measuring in at 24,000 square feet (2,200 square meters).
🛩️ It was built by the Royal Air Force in 1953. They were scared that a nuclear war might break out—and therefore built this big site, with a dormitory, command centers, and living and cooking facilities.
Built over three storeys, it was equipped with a BBC broadcasting studio—and was intended to house Britain’s most important and esteemed people (like the Queen!) if a full war ever broke out.
From the outside, it looks like nothing. From the inside, it’s massive. These days, the museum hosts tanks, a retro cafe, 2 cinemas, and lots of old creepy claustrophobic corridors. If you like unusual history, this is a genuine mustn’t-miss.
11. St. Kilda
It’s strange because: this tiny place was fully abandoned almost 100 years ago… but now nearly a million birds live here!
St. Kilda is a collection of super-remote islands off the west coast of Scotland—and they’re 45 miles (72km) west of the already-remote Lewis and Harris!
Since 1930, St. Kilda has had no permanent population. Back then, the place was evacuated, for a number of reasons (the population was shrinking, locals were becoming ill, and the First World War had killed and displaced lots of the locals).
Now, it’s home to no people… but hosts one of Europe’s largest colonies of seabirds (including the UK’s largest colony of Atlantic puffins!) 🦅
🚢 To get here, take one of the small ferries from Skye, Uist, or Lewis and Harris. But make sure you book in advance—visits are tightly controlled and rationed.
Another note: you can only visit between May and September… but June to August is by far the best time for seeing as many birds as possible.
Fun fact: St. Kilda is one of Scotland’s 13 UNESCO sites—and the other 12 are VERY varied. Here’s our big guide to all of them.
10. Moffat’s Sheep Statue
It’s strange because: it’s a sheep… with no ears
Sitting in the Scottish Borders* (that’s, unsurprisingly, the most southern part of Scotland, which borders northern England), is the cozy little market town of Moffat.
… and in the cozy little market town of Moffat, you’ll find a large bronze statue of a sheep. It was sculpted and installed to celebrate the town’s famous wool trade. But, weirdly, it has no ears 🐏
🌲 *In general, the Scottish Borders are vastly underrated. To learn lots more about them, here’s our complete guide.
9. The Surgeon’s Hall Museums
It’s strange because: it’s a big weird collection of limbs, organs, and skin
💉 Sitting inside the official headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Surgeon’s Hall Museums host one of the world’s biggest collections of pathology exhibits.
Which basically means you get to see stuff like:
- Amputated limbs
- Diseased organs
- Wax models of injuries
- Preserved body parts in jars
- Victorian surgical tools that look more like torture devices
- … and loads more stuff that makes you glad you’re alive in the 21st century
One of their most famous exhibits is a book made of human skin. To be specific, it’s the skin of William Burke, the murderer we already mentioned.
For much more on exploring Scotland’s capital, here are our guides on:
8. Smoo Cave
It’s strange because: it has inspired many local legends; and there’s a waterfall inside it!
Smoo Cave is one of Scotland’s weirdest natural wonders: a hefty sea cave carved into the cliffs of Scotland’s mainland northwestern corner (with a big ol’ waterfall hidden inside its second chamber).
It’s one of Scotland’s biggest caves; and Vikings might have used it as a winter shelter 🥶
🌚 Norse, Stone Age and Iron Age relics have all been found in the cave—and the cave’s name (probably) translates from a Norse word meaning ‘hole’ or ‘hiding place.’
🗻 You can walk inside the cave for free. But I recommend taking a tour: on these tours, you hop on a little raft, see the big waterfall (which is the most impressive part of the whole cave), and learn about history, geology, and mythology.
7. Camera Obscura
It’s strange because: it’s full of optical illusions
Edinburgh’s Camera Obscura is a bit childish and silly…
… but if you’ve never been anywhere like it before, you’ll have a lot of fun.
Basically, it’s a big bunch of interactive optical illusions. It uses mirrors and lenses to bend reality, messing with your depth perception, and tricking your brain.
📸 Highlights include silly photo opportunities, heat cameras, weird mirrors, a kaleidoscopic tunnel, a rooftop viewing chamber (with some of Edinburgh’s best panoramic views!), a mirror maze, and five floors of over 100 illusions.
6. Bothies (in general!)
They’re strange because: these basic bare buildings are like homeless shelters… but for hikers
Bothies are both super-strange and super-convenient.
Remote little former homes now converted into basic booths for outdoor adventurers, they’re usually plonked in the middle of nowhere.
Very rudimentary (sometimes with small comforts like cooking facilities and sleeping platforms; sometimes without), you’ll mainly find them in mountainous areas ⛰️
Basically, if you’re on a hike or bike ride, these can function as your accommodation for one night. Some people plan to use them, some use them in emergencies, and most of them are abandoned homes. You don’t need to book them, and anyone can use them.
For much more, here’s our complete guide to Scottish bothies.
5. Barra Airport
It’s strange because: it’s an airport on the beach!
Barra airport is one of the only places on the planet where flights take off and land from a sand beach 🏖️
The little island of Barra sits off Scotland’s west coast (and also west of the Isle of Skye).
It has a population of around 1,200 people—and there’s a tiny airport near its northern tip. This airport serves regular flights to Glasgow (and only Glasgow), and the journey takes around 75 minutes.
🛩️ But it’s a strange place: it’s very small. The little runways are made of sand. The planes are all powered by propellers. The baggage reclaim is the size of a bus stop. And only 250 people use the airport every day.
And get this:if the weather and the tides aren’t perfect, flights in and out are often canceled, because using the three tiny runways can be both difficult and dangerous 😧
4. The Den and the Glen (formerly known as ‘Storybook Glen’)
It’s strange because: kids like it… but adults find it creepy. And you’ll see exactly why
A kid-friendly park on the outskirts of Aberdeen, The Den and the Glen is basically just a standard family-friendly day out, with waterfalls, gardens, parks, and slides.
✅ All pretty normal.
❌ Except…
… dotted throughout the park, there are loads of creepy versions of familiar characters from films, TV and books. You get the Teletubbies, Barney the Dinosaur, Shrek, Cinderella, Bart Simpson, and more. But they all look like they’ve been sculpted by someone from memory, in the dark, after not sleeping properly for a week. Genuinely bizarre 😕
3. The Kelpies
They’re strange because: they’re the world’s biggest horses (well, sort of)
🐴 The Kelpies are a gigantic pair of shiny steel sculptures of horse heads, measuring in at a massive (and massively-unnecessary) height of 30 meters (98 feet).
Sitting around 2 miles (3.2km) east of Falkirk, they weigh 300 tonnes each, and are currently the world’s largest equine sculptures (not that there’ll be a huge amount of competition in that contest).
They sit inside the big Helix Park, which also includes a swimmable pond, hire boats, walking trails, play areas, a waymarked cycle ride, and loads more family fun.
For much more, here’s everything you need to know about the weird and wonderful Kelpies.
2. Suilven’s Hike to the Hike
It’s strange because: you have to hike… to reach the hike
Suilven is Scotland’s strangest day hike 🥾
Although its peak measures in at only 731 meters (2,400 feet), Suilven is one of the nation’s most recognisable mountains. Pushing up from a bunch of peaty bogs, and standing completely alone, the iconic Suilven lies 9km (5.5 miles) from the nearest road.
… so, the walk up and down Suilven only takes around 3 or 4 hours ⌚
But here’s the thing: you need to walk 9km before you start ascending—and another 9km after you’ve finished your descent.
🌳 In short, it’s a very beautiful and rewarding trek. But it’s also a very unusual trek!
For much more, here’s our complete guide to the Suilven hike.
1. Skye’s Fairy Glen
It’s strange because: it looks like something from space
Probably the most unusual site on the famous Isle of Skye (and there’s plenty of competition!), the otherworldly Fairy Glen is a strange and surreal land formation. Hyper-green, it’s all lumpy and marshy, and looks like something from a different planet.
🟢 Looking like it was plucked from the set of one of the Hobbit movies, the whole place is full of weird cones, grassy ridges, and spirals that feel semi-mythical. And it’s a lovely place for an aimless wander 🟢
For much more on the Isle of Skye, here are:
Before You Go
🏴 So, there they are—24 strange spots in Scotland you didn’t know about!
If you can only visit four of them, my recommendations are:
- The Den and the Glen (if you’re traveling with kids)
- The Bealach Na Ba (and ALL of the North Coast 500!)
- Taking one of the spooky Edinburgh ghost tours (they’re scarier than you expect)
- The Cape Wrath Trail (if you’re looking for one of the world’s best outdoor adventures)
For more strange Scottish stuff, check our guides on:
Thanks for reading, thanks for choosing Travelness, and we’ll see you again soon. Bye for now, and enjoy exploring Scotland! 👋
IMPORTANT: Feel free to explore our other travel guides while you’re here – you might discover some delightful surprises! Click on our links above, every visit helps support our small business. We truly appreciate it.
