13.  TAIT’S TOMB

The site, now known as Tait’s Tomb, was erected by the owner of the Harviestoun estate Craufurd Tait in the early 19th century and this was the family burying-place. When first built it stood next to the River Devon surrounded by trees but with the coming of the railway the river was re-routed leaving the mausoleum stranded in the middle of a marshy field.

Craufurd Tait made various agricultural improvements to the Harviestoun estate during the early 1800s, including the introduction of mechanisation, however, in 1822, money ran out and he accrued huge debts, and the estate was put on the market.

He died in 1832, aged 67. On his gravestone at Tait’s Tomb, it states: “His taste adorned this lovely valley, in the bosom of which he lies. His genius – in advance of the age in which he lived – originated, in a great measure, the improvement of the district…”

Traditionally associated with ghosts, the sighting of an apparition near Tait’s Tomb has intrigued generations. During the long winter nights, people passing the tomb have often claimed to have seen a man wearing odd clothing who, on approach, seemed to disappear.