The Old Village of Lawers in Perthshire is for sale for the low, low price of £125,000. That's a steal at 3.31 acres! It comes with other perks as well, according to the sellers:
An ancient, ruined village, located in stunning Highland scenery on the shores of Loch Tay, with remarkable historical and romantic connections, including, reputedly, its own ghost!
• Loch Tay frontage
• Riparian trout fishing rights
• Area of historic interest with ruined buildings
• Private beach in area of natural beauty
• Semi-ancient native woodland
• Grass paddock with potential planning opportunity
That ghost, by the way, is the Lady of Lawers, a phantasm so noted that she even has her own Wikipedia page (and some creepy TV specials, as seen in the YouTube rip above). The Lady lived in the late 17th century, and was noted her prophetic visions — the first of which came to her in the Old Village itself:
It was while [the village church] was being built that the Lady uttered the first of her prophecies. "The ridging stones shall never be placed on the roof of the church."
This was received with some amusement as the carved capping stones had that day been brought by boat from Kenmore. But in the night a violent storm blew up and the stones were washed into the deep waters of the loch and could not be recovered.
From then on, the Lady of Lawers was regarded with a new respect and a certain fear. Close to the new church was planted an ash tree besides which she was later buried. "The tree will grow", said the Lady of Lawers, "and when it reaches the height of the gable the church will split asunder."
The church roof did indeed collapse in 1833, when it was said that the height of the tree reached that of the gable.
She is also believed to have predicted the railway, in her visions of "fire-coaches," as well as the steam ship, or "a ship driven by smoke," as she put it. That latter prediction may also be one of the three that is yet to come pass, according to Wikipedia:
There are still three prophesies that remain unfulfilled:
• "A strange heir will come to Balloch when the Boar's Stone at Fearnan topples over."
• "A ship driven by smoke will sink in the loch with great loss of life." (indeed, for many years steam ships were used in Loch Tay, but there is no known record of a sinkage with large loss of lives)
• "The time will come when Ben Lawers will become so cold that it will chill and waste the land for seven miles."
Sounds like a fun place to live!
The Old Village of Lawers [Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group]
The Old Village of Lawers: Ruins 'haunted by seer who predicted invention of trains and steamships' is on the market [Laura Paterson / The Scotsman]
