Took a drive up the west coast of Scotland last weekend to an area know mostly for the luxury resort of Portavadie Marina, but my main reason for the trip was to check out the remains of Polphail, it was but during the early 70's to provide accommodation for up to 500 workers at a nearby oil platform construction yard, but the yard never started production and so Polphail lay empty from the day it was built.

You can read more about the village  here. It's now in a far worse state than the photographs on Secret Scotland show, so if you're planning a visit go soon and be careful. I've put a couple of shots of the graffiti in the urban gallery and a shot of one of the accommodation blocks that give a flavour of how things look now.

On a plus side the Portavadie Marina nearby is a little luxury haven for the weary traveller, so you can go explore then treat yourself to lunch. With nice weather the scenery is hard to beat as well.