Muness Castle is the UK's most northerly castle, located on the south east corner of the island of Unst. The castle is in ruins, and can be freely visited at any time. You can enter the castle from the back - go through the gate beside the parking area/picnic table, and follow the wall around to your right. Torches are available from the box under the information board within the castle grounds. This is a beautiful area for walking/hiking. After your visit, you can continue towards the end of the road, where walks to scenic Ham Beach and Scolla Wick are signposted.
History
Muness Castle was built by Laurence Bruce, who was a petty tyrant. He was half-brother to the Earl of Orkney, Robert Stewart, and he was made foud (sheriff-depute and chamberlain) for the lordship and bishopric of Shetland in 1573.
Bruce abused his position so much that he was tried by the Privy Council in 1577. The charges were of replacing elected officials with his own men and extracting excessive taxes. He was found guilty and was sacked from his post, and told to go south. He was not to return to Shetland or Orkney. However, he was not deterred by this order, and in 1598 he returned and began to build Muness Castle.
The castle follow a Z-plan, with cylindrical towers at diagonally opposing corners. Gunners were able to cover all approaches to the castle using gunholes in the towers and turrets. In its heyday, the castle would have been surrounded by other buildings, courtyards and gardens. Traces of these are visible in the field to the south. The castle furnishings would have been luxurious, and probably from the continent, due to the close trading links between Unst and the trading port of Bremen in Germany.
The cache can be reached from the parking area without crossing any fences. It is a small lock & lock box, which has space for a log, pencil and small travel bugs. Small items are included to trade - as always, please trade equal or above. Please ensure the box is properly covered so that it is not visible, and does not blow away.
Congratulations to PurplePenguin for First to Find.