Winston Barracks.

Winston Barracks lye just outside of Lanark in Scotland, they where opened in 1941for the Cameronians (Scotish Rifles) who remained there until the Ministry Of Defence eventually closed the barracks in 1968.

From 1968 the barracks where placed on care and maintenence status with plans adapted to transform the site into a hospital in the event of war, this never happened though and in the 80s the MOD ceased all activity on the site and finally sold it in 1994 to Ferry Dean Development ltd.

At present the site is currently being demolished with the exception of four main buildings which will be transformed into apartments.

The site was once quite extensive and looked rather like a small village rather than and Army barracks and could house a full Battalion of upto 1500 Soldiers at any one time.

Since the barracks closed though they have been the target of repeated thefts and over the years virtually all the internal fixtures have been stolen or destroyed, surprisingly the only things that still remain intact are the Ministry Of Defence signs which are visible all round the remaining four buildings.

A shame really its been demolished bar the four main buildings as its quite and atmospheric site.

We didnt really know what to expect of this site as information on it is relativley hard to come by as are recent photos to indicate its condition.

When we arrived we felt a bit deflated and nearly got back in the car as what remains isnt exactly confidence inspiring, the majority of the site is now gone and JCBs litter the site but being there we decided to go in anyway to see if it was worth exploring.

Even though there is only four buildings left the place does have some nice features inside, virtually every where is bare but some parts where quite interesting and almost Asylum like in looks.

Inside is the typical MOD barracks look and very reminscent of other barracks we have been to but it does have character as it is quite old.

The biggest surprise I think was coming across all the original MOD signs which indicate where the various offices, mess, map rooms and so would of been located, which is a rare thing of any MOD site as they usually strip sites of everything, signs included.

The other pleasent surprise was the kitchens which still had the cookers and fridges still in situ even tagged with the original War Department reference numbers.