Tour Scotland Photograph Video Snowdrops Scone Palace

Tour Scotland photograph of Snowdrops on the grounds around Scone Palace, Perthshire, Scotland. The Scottish Snowdrop Festival starts each year from February 1st. From the Latin name meaning 'milk flower', these tiny green and white flowers are amongst the first blossoms to emerge in the new year. In the mid 19th century soldiers in the Crimean War brought them back from the battlefields to plant in their gardens. Today they thrive throughout Scotland, in gardens, damp woods and on river banks. At locations throughout Scotland, you’ll find snowdrop after snowdrop, bringing brightness and magic to your day.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Tour Scotland Photographs Railway Station Kyle of Lochalsh

Tour Scotland photograph of the Railway Station at Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland.


Photograph of the Railway Station at Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland.


Photograph of the Railway Station at Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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February 5th Photograph Dreich Edinburgh Scotland

February 5th photograph of a dreich day in Edinburgh, Scotland. The word " dreich " means dull, rainy, and cloudy.


February 5th photograph of a dreich day in Edinburgh, Scotland.


February 5th photograph of a dreich day in Edinburgh, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

Small group tours of Scotland. Ancestry tours of Scotland. Tour Scotland. Tour Aberdeen, Tour Dundee, Tour Edinburgh, Tour Glasgow, Tour Isle of Skye. Tour Glencoe, Tour Loch Lomond. Tour Loch Ness.

Tour Scotland Photograph Sheepdogs Herding Ducks

Tour Scotland photograph of Scottish sheepdogs herding ducks, just South of Aviemore, Cairngorm National Park, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Tour Scotland Highland Games Photographs

Tour Scotland Highland Games slideshow. Highland games are held throughout the year in Scotland and many other countries of the world as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain elements of the games are so well known as to have become emblematic of Scotland, such as the bagpipes, the kilt, and the heavy events, especially the caber toss. While centered around competitions in piping and drumming, dancing, and Scottish heavy athletics, the games also include entertainment and exhibits related to other aspects of Scottish and Gaelic culture.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

Small group tours of Scotland. Ancestry tours of Scotland. Tour Scotland. Tour Aberdeen, Tour Dundee, Tour Edinburgh, Tour Glasgow, Tour Isle of Skye. Tour Glencoe, Tour Loch Lomond. Tour Loch Ness.

Tour Scotland Photograph Camera Obscura Edinburgh

Tour Scotland photograph of the Camera Obscura, Edinburgh, Scotland. Located near the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, on the short Castlehill Street. Camera Obscura is the oldest purpose built attraction in the city. In the early 18th century, the Edinburgh instrument maker Thomas Short leased some land on Calton Hill to display his instruments to the public. As his lease stipulated female relatives of Thomas could not inherit the building and its contents, his wife and children did not inherit it when he died in 1788. In 1827, Maria Theresa Short returned to Edinburgh from the West Indies claiming to be Thomas Short’s daughter and attempted to claim his Great Telescope for her inheritance. Despite strong competition from other parties, she received the telescope and set up Short's Popular Observatory in 1835, housed in a wooden and stone building next to the National Monument on Calton Hill. She exhibited many scientific instruments and kept her Observatory open till 9pm each evening. After this very popular observatory was pulled down by authorities against her protests in 1851, she moved to Castlehill. In 1852, she bought the Laird of Cockpen’s townhouse, adding two storeys to create Short's Observatory, Museum of Science and Art, in existence from 1853 to 1892. The tenement is thought to be the original mansion of the Ramsays of Dalhousie, the Lairds of Cockpen, turned into small flats in the 18th century. The main attraction in Short's Observatory was the camera obscura occupying the topmost room. Her husband continued to run the attraction after Mrs. Short died in 1869. The tower, with its six floors of interactive exhibitions, is still open to the public, making it the oldest purpose built attraction in the city, and one of the oldest in the United Kingdom.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Tour Scotland Photographs Tibbermore Church

Tour Scotland photograph of the church in Tibbermore, Perthshire, Scotland. Tibbermore Parish Church is a former parish church rebuilt in 17th century when the transepts were removed and the striking bellcote added. Reputed to be the burial place of three hundred Covenanters who perished in the Battle of Tibbermore.





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Tour Scotland Photograph Scottish National War Memorial Edinburgh

Tour Scotland photograph of the Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland. Scottish National War Memorial which commemorate Scotss and those serving with Scottish regiments who had died in the First World War and subsequent conflicts.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Tour Scotland Photograph Doune Castle

Tour Scotland photograph of Doune Castle, beside the village of Doune, north of Stirling, Scotland. This castle is remarkable among Scottish castles, as it is the product of a single building period, and has survived relatively unchanged and complete. It was begun in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, born 1340, died 1420, the son of King Robert II of Scotland, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany's son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house. In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn's rising in the middle of the 17th century, and during the Jacobite Risings of the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1800 the castle was ruined, but restoration works were carried out in the 1880s. Many scenes in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a parody of the legends of King Arthur, was filmed at Doune Castle.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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January 31st Photograph Snow Scotland

January 31st winter photograph of snow in the hills, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of snow in the hills, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of snow in the hills, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of snow in the hills, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.



Small group tours of Scotland. Ancestry tours of Scotland. Tour Scotland. Tour Aberdeen, Tour Dundee, Tour Edinburgh, Tour Glasgow, Tour Isle of Skye. Tour Glencoe, Tour Loch Lomond. Tour Loch Ness.

Tour Scotland Photographs Blair Athol Whisky Distillery Pitlochry Perthshire

Tour Scotland photograph of Blair Athol Whisky Distillery, Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland. The first documented evidence of a distillery on the present site dates from 1798.


Photograph of Blair Athol Whisky Distillery, Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Tour Scotland Photographs Ballintuim Church Perthshire

Tour Scotland photograph of St. Michael’s Church, Ballintuim, Perthshire, Scotland. Built in 1898 using stone from three local derelict croft cottages.


Photograph of Ballintuim Church, Perthshire, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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January 31st Photograph Winter Road Scotland

January 31st photograph of winter on the A924 road between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of winter on the A924 road between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of winter on the A924 road between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael, Perthshire, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

January 31st Photograph Ruined Cottage Scotland

January 31st photograph of a ruined cottage on a snow covered hillside, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of a ruined cottage, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of a ruined cottage, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of a ruined cottage, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

The Highland Clearances. In the terrible aftermath of the moorland battle of Culloden, the Highlanders suffered at the hands of their own clan chiefs. Following his magnificent reconstruction of Culloden, John Prebble recounts how the Highlanders were deserted and then betrayed into famine and poverty. While their chiefs grew rich on meat and wool, the people died of cholera and starvation or, evicted from the glens to make way for sheep, were forced to emigrate to foreign lands. Prebble tells a terrible story excellently. There is little need to search further to explain so much of the sadness and emptiness of the northern Highlands today. The Highland Clearances.

January 31st Photograph Heather Scotland

January 31st photograph of winter heather, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland. Heather is one of the commonest and most widely distributed plants in Scotland. It turns brown in winter, and can survive very low temperatures.


January 31st photograph of winter heather, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of winter heather, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.


January 31st photograph of winter heather, north of Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

The Scots Herbal. The Plant Lore of Scotland. The first ever comprehensive guide to the many ways in which wild plants have been used in Scotland from prehistoric times to the present day. To our ancestors, there was no such thing as a weed. Every growing thing had a role to play in daily life - as an ingredient for food, as medicine, as a dye or as fodder for livestock. Tess Darwin reveals the forgotten secrets of Scottish plant lore in fascinating detail, showing how many of the plant remedies which were dismissed by modern scientists as superstition have since been found to be effective in treating illness and have led to the creation of many new drugs.Tess Darwin has delved deeply into the forgotten secrets of Scottish plant lore, gathering information from a wide range of sources - from old herbals to the most up-to-date scientific research. She has uncovered the uses and folklore of hundreds of plants - as an ingredient for food, as medicine, as a dye or the raw material for textiles, as fodder for livestock, and in traditional crafts like basket-making and thatching, wine-making and wood-carving. The Scots Herbal: The Plant Lore of Scotland.

Flora Celtica. Plants and People in Scotland documents the continuously evolving relationship between the Scots and their environment. Based on a mixture of detailed research and information provided by the public, this book explores the remarkable diversity of ways that native plants have been, and continue to be, used in Scotland. The information is presented in clear and accessible format and is laced with quotations, illustrations, case studies and practical tips. The book covers the complete spectrum of plant uses, addressing their diverse roles in our diet, healthcare, culture, housing, language, environment, crafts, and much more. It is ideal as a reference book and also a delight to dip into for all those with a passion for natural history. It is illustrated in colour throughout. Flora Celtica: Plants and People in Scotland.

Small group tours of Scotland. Ancestry tours of Scotland. Tour Scotland. Tour Aberdeen, Tour Dundee, Tour Edinburgh, Tour Glasgow, Tour Isle of Skye. Tour Glencoe, Tour Loch Lomond. Tour Loch Ness.