Tour Scotland photographs and videos from my tours of Scotland. Photography and videography, both old and new, from beautiful Scotland, Scottish castles, seascapes, rivers, islands, landscapes, standing stones, lochs and glens.
Tour Scotland photograph of Scottish Highland Dancing at the Highland Games in Newburgh, Fife, Scotland. Highland dance or Highland dancing is a style of competitive solo dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games, where it is often performed to the accompaniment of Highland bagpipe music. It is now seen at nearly every modern day Highland games event.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of an Irish Jig being performed at the Highland Games in Newburgh, Fife, Scotland. During the seventeenth century the dance was adopted in Ireland and Scotland, where it was widely adapted, and the jig is now most often associated with these countries. The jig is second in popularity only to the reel in traditional Irish dance; it is popular but somewhat less common in Scottish country dance music. The most common structure of a jig is two eight-bar parts, performing two different steps, each once on the right foot, and one on the left foot. As with most other types of dance tunes in Irish music, at a session or a dance it is common for two or more jigs to be strung together in a set, flowing on without interruption.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of tossing the caber at the Highland Games in Newburgh, Fife, Scotland. The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a " caber ".It is usually 19 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. The caber derives from the Gaelic word " cabar " or " kaber " which refers to a wooden beam. It is said to have developed from the need for highlanders from Scottish Clans to toss logs across narrow streams or chasms in order to cross them
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of throwing the hammer at the Highland Games in Newburgh, Fife, Scotland. The hammer evolved from its early informal origins to become part of the Scottish Highland games in the late 18th century, where the original version of the event is still contested today. It is believed that, like many Highland games events, the origin of the hammer throw is tied to a prohibition by King Edward I of England against Scotsmen possessing weapons during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Wine For Haggis, Cairn O' Mohr Stall, at Alyth Show, Perthshire, Scotland. Guid For Haggis, a wine specifically to match haggis by folding some of the calming oak leaf in with the bramble.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of a young farmer pulling a Highland Cow at Alyth Show, Perthshire, Scotland. Sometimes Highland cows have to be encouraged into the show ring for judging.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of a Clydesdale Horse at the Agricultural Show in Alyth, Perthshire, Scotland. The Clydesdale is a breed of draught horse derived from the farm horses of Clydesdale, and named after that region. Although originally one of the smaller breeds of draught horses, it is now a tall breed.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
June photograph of the Soak The Bagpiper Stall at Alyth Show, Scotland.
June photograph of the Soak The Bagpiper Stall at Alyth Show, Perthshire, Scotland. Alyth Pipe Band raising funds at Alyth Show. A chance to soak a Scottish Piper or Drummer.
Tour Scotland photograph of judging orange sheep at Alyth Show in Perthshire, Scotland. The orange yellow colouring is generally favoured by Blackface breeders and is used when sheep are presented for show or sale. The colouring accentuates the black faces and horns of the sheep and rams making them easier to judge.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of spraying sheep orange in Glen Quaich, Perthshire, Scotland. A Scottish hill farmer in Glen Quaich spraying a sheep in preparation for showing the animal at Alyth Agricultural Show.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Amulree and Strathbraan church and cemetery, Perthshire, Scotland. Amulree was at the junction of three major droves. It formed part of the route Highland drovers would use to bring their livestock to the cattle market at Crieff and Falkirk. Amulree Church was built between 1743 and 1752 and remodelled in 1882. Built to a simple design it has both a bellcote and wethervane. The architect was a John Douglas of Edinburgh. The Amulree church bell was cast in 1519. Amulree parish church contains copies of records of the large number of people who stayed in the area prior to mass emigration, mostly to North Easthope, Canada, in the early 19th Century. The Celtic place name was Ath Maol Ruibhe meaning Maol Rubha's ford.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Atholl Memorial Fountain, Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland. The Atholl Memorial Fountain was funded by public subscription and built in 1866 to the memory of George Augustus Frederick John 6th Duke of Atholl. George, born 20 September 1814, died 16 January 1864, was a Scottish peer and freemason. Born at Great Cumberland Place, London, he was the son of James Murray, 1st Baron Glenlyon, who was the second son of John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, and his wife Lady Emily Frances Percy, second daughter of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland. He succeeded his father as baron in 1837 and his uncle John Murray as duke in 1846. Murray served in the British Army and was lieutenant of the 2nd Dragoon Guards, retiring in 1840. He became a Deputy Lieutenant of Perthshire in 1846 and was invested as a Knight of the Thistle in 1853. As Lord Glenlyon, he formed the Atholl Highlanders in 1839 as his personal bodyguard. In 1844, when Queen Victoria stayed at Blair Castle, the Atholl Highlanders provided the guard for the Queen. So impressed was she with their turnout that she ordered they be presented with colours, giving them official status as a British regiment. On 29 October 1839, he married Anne Home Drummond, daughter of Henry Home Drummond. Murray died in 1864, aged 49, from cancer of the neck and was succeeded in his titles by his only child John. He served as 66th Grand Master Mason of Scotland from 1843 to 1863 and was Grand Master of England from 1843 until his death in January, 1864.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Little Dunkeld Church and graveyard cemetery in Birnam, Perthshire, Scotland. This Scottish church dates from 1798, and was designed and built by John Stewart from Dunkeld. This Scottish church dates from 1798, and was designed and built by John Stewart from Dunkeld. Little Dunkeld, was once a large parish, in the county of Perth. Little Dunkeld is now located within the village of Birnam, on the south bank of the River Tay opposite the historic Highland town of Dunkeld.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland travel video of the Justice and Humility stained glass window inside St Serf's Church, Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland. 1910 stained glass window by James Ballantyne of Edinburgh. James, born 11 June 1806, died 18 December 1877, was an artist and author. His father was a brewer who died when James was only 10. He received little education and what he did know came from his mother or being self taught. In his early teens he was apprenticed to a house painter in Edinburgh. Aged 20 he went to Edinburgh University. After graduating he turned his attention to the art of painting on glass. He quickly achieved high eminence in his field and got the contract for painting the windows of the House of Lords through a public competition. His 1845 book A treatise of Stained Glass became a standard work. He start poetry at young age and became an established writer. He wrote poetry books and also a collection of his songs. He died from a " congestion of the lungs " in Warrender Lodge, Meadows, Edinburgh on December 18th, 1877.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
June photograph of Dupplin Cross, St Serf's Church, Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland. This beautiful, finely carved cross was dedicated to "Constantine, son of Fergus". Constantine ruled Pictland from his palace at Forteviot from 789 to 820, and was one of the last Kings of Pictland before its conquest and assimilation into Alba by Kenneth Mac Alpin or Kenneth I in 843.
June photograph of Dupplin Cross, St Serf's Church, Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland.
June photograph of Dupplin Cross, St Serf's Church, Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland.
June photograph of St Serf's Church, Dunning, Scotland. St Serf's Church was built in about 1200, probably by Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn, and its income was awarded by him to the Augustinian Priory at Inchaffray.
June photograph of Castle Campbell, Scotland. Two miles from the town of Dollar, on a high spur of the Ochil Hills, in one of the grandest situations enjoyed by any castle in Scotland, stands Castle Campbell.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Major General Robert Bruce Memorial, Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland. Major-General the Honourable Robert Bruce, born 15 March 1813, died 27 June 1862, was a British Army officer who served as Governor to the young Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. He was the fourth son of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and the Earl's second son by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Townsend Oswald. James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin was his elder brother, and his younger brothers included Frederick Wright-Bruce and Thomas Charles Bruce. Bruce entered the Army at the age of seventeen, with the purchase of a commission as ensign and lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards on 18 June 1830. His promotion to lieutenant and captain was purchased on 22 February 1833. Bruce served as adjutant of the regiment from 28 May 1835 until July 1836 and then on the staff of Sir Edward Blakeney, the commander-in-chief in Ireland. Bruce served as military secretary to his brother Lord Elgin, the governor of Jamaica, from 1841 to 1846, in the meantime being promoted captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Grenadier Guards, again by purchase, on 2 August 1844. He acted again as military secretary to his brother from 1847 to 1854, during Elgin's term as Governor-General of the Province of Canada, and on 20 June 1854 he was granted brevet rank as colonel. He returned to England in that year and served briefly as a surveyor-general at the Board of Ordnance. He was promoted major of his regiment, without purchase, on 16 September 1856, and served until he retired as a lieutenant-colonel on the half-pay unattached list on 7 December 1858. In 1858 Bruce was appointed governor to the seventeen-year-old Prince of Wales, following the dismissal of the Prince's tutor Frederick Waymouth Gibbs. He attended the Prince during his time at Christ Church, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge between 1859 and 1861, and accompanied him on his trips to Rome in 1859 and Canada and the United States in 1860. On 7 December 1859 he was promoted major-general. In 1862 he went with the Prince of Wales on a tour of the Near East, where he caught a fever. He died at St James's Palace in the rooms of his sister Lady Augusta Bruce, later wife of Dean Stanley. Bruce was married on 2 May 1848 to Katherine Mary, second daughter of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, 6th Baronet. They had no children. The Hon. Mrs Bruce was appointed a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria in 1866, and was a Lady of the Order of Victoria and Albert. She died on 3 December 1889.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Augusta Elizabeth Frederica Bruce Memorial in the Abbey in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Fifth daughter of Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin and Kincardine. The beloved wife of Arthur Stanley, Dean of Westminster. Died March 1st, 1876. She was brought up in Paris after her father died. She was lady in waiting to Queen Victoria. She met and later married Arthur P. Stanley, Dean of Westminster at the home of Mary Elizabeth Mohl in Paris. France.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Dunfermline Abbey Church, Fife, Scotland. Dunfermline Abbey, one of Scotland's most important cultural sites, has received more of Caledonia’s royal dead than any other place in the kingdom, excepting Iona. The tomb of Saint Margaret and Malcolm Canmore, within the ruined walls of the Lady chapel, was restored and enclosed by command of Queen Victoria. Robert the Bruce was buried, in 1329, in the choir, now the site of the present parish church. Bruce’s heart rests in Melrose, but his bones lie in Dunfermline Abbey, where, after the discovery of the skeleton in 1818, they were reinterred with fitting pomp below the pulpit of the New church. In 1891 the pulpit was moved back and a monumental brass inserted in the floor to indicate the royal vault.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Palace in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Dunfermline Palace is a former Scottish royal palace. Dunfermline was a favourite residence of many Scottish monarchs. Documented history of royal residence there begins in the 11th century with King Malcolm III who made it his capital. His seat was the nearby Malcolm's Tower, a few hundred yards to the west of the later palace. In the medieval period David II and James I of Scotland were both born at Dunfermline. In 1589 the palace was given as a wedding present by the King James VI, to Anne of Denmark after their marriage. She gave birth to three of their children there; Elizabeth in 1596, Charles in 1600 and Robert on 1602. After the Union of Crowns in 1603, the removal of the Scottish court to London, England, meant that the building came to be rarely visited by a monarch. When Charles I returned in 1633 for his Scottish coronation he only made a brief visit to his place of birth. The last monarch to occupy the palace was Charles II who stayed at Dunfermline in 1650 just before the Battle of Pitreavie. Soon afterwards, during the Cromwellian occupation of Scotland, the building was abandoned and by 1708 it had been unroofed. All that remains of the palace today is the kitchen, its cellars, and the impressive south wall with a commanding prospect over the Firth of Forth to the south.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
June photograph of the Maid Of The Forth, Scotland. The Maid of the Forth offers cruises from the Hawes Pier at South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, Scotland.
