I recently came across MacDuff Castle whilst exploring the coastal area of FIFE. There is no clear visible sign post and I had to find the hidden path just beside the MacDuff Cemetery outside of East Wemyss in FIFE. I drove along the A955 until I saw the cemetery on my right when coming from Wemyss and parked my car on the road. There is no car park, except the one at the cemetery. Walking along a small path i entered an area which was overgrown by plants and trees. Maybe its the fact that the ruins lie just beside a graveyard or because it is very quiet or lonely or the tale about the«grey lady» who haunts this place that I felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but after walking down towards the coast and the«beach» I felt a certain relieve and noticed a couple. Was I glad to encounter civilization :-) There is not much left of the castle(one or two ruined towers to which access is denied), which was supposedly built by the Clan MacDuff in the 11th century around the time of King Macbeth of Scotland. According to records or just profound wishful thinking, this castle was once a vast powerful place and changed hands often enough during the centuries. After King Edward I of England resided there he ordered the castle to be destroyed and it was rebuild by the Livingstones and Wemyss families. The most interesting part of the castle are the caves beneath. Sadly, they are either gated(The Well Cave) or have collapsed over the years. These caves are part of the Wemyss Cave tour, which shows you caves with markings of old times past(prehistoric — Pictish, Viking or Christians). I think they found a bone like marking in the Well cave. I might be back for the Wemyss Cave tour to find out more about this area and exciting past!
