The UK's eerie abandoned castle with a 'shameful legacy' and 'terrifying history'

The UK is a nation full of history and incredible castles, but not all of them bring happy memories. One abandoned Scottish castle is now not only a slowly crumbling ruin but also hides a dark past of neglect, cruelty and heartbreak.

Lennox Castle, around 40 minutes from Glasgow, was built between 1837 and 1841 for landowner John Lennox Kincaid. The grand estate, designed by David Hamilton, stood in the Campsie foothills and was once surrounded by huge woodland. In 1927, Glasgow Corporation bought it and turned it into a hospital, which opened in 1936 as Scotland's largest institution for people with learning disabilities.

At the time, it was seen as modern and well-equipped, with 20 separate blocks housing about 1,200 residents. The castle itself was used as a nurses' home.

But the reputation didn't last. By the 1980s, conditions had deteriorated badly. A British Medical Journal study found residents were dangerously underweight and malnourished.

Alasdair Sim, the hospital's medical director, said in 1986 that he had "never worked in a worse pit".

Former patients have since spoken about their time there, describing it as a place of strict rules, fear and abuse.

Hughie McIntyre, who was sent to Lennox Castle as a teenager, told the BBC: "I was in there for 16 years. I lost the will to survive. I was tortured: beaten, kicked, and heavily punched. I get nightmares thinking about it."

Frances Brown, a former mental health nurse who trained at the hospital, called it "probably the worst experience of my professional career and probably my life".

"People were just not treated as human," she recalled.

The hospital also had a maternity unit between the 1940s and 1960s, and was the birthplace of several well-known Scots, including singer Lulu and footballer John Brown.

It finally closed in 2002 as attitudes shifted towards housing people with learning disabilities within the community.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the care it provided was "outdated and did not support a good quality of life".

Since then, the site has fallen into ruin. A fire in 2008 destroyed parts of the building, but the castle remains a Category A listed structure.

Today, the grounds have a very different use. Part of the estate is home to Celtic FC's £8million Lennoxtown Training Centre, while plans to turn other sections into housing have been discussed but repeatedly shelved.