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 video shot today of the Pipe Band drumming competition in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland. A pipe band drummer performing today in Kinross.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Robert Burns-Begg Memorial in Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Perthshire, Scotland. Robert Burns Begg, was the local sherrif-clerk of Kinross and grand nephew of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. Robert Burns Begg was born on 9th of May 1798 in Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the son of John Begg and Isabella Burness. He was baptized on 11th May 1798 in Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scotland. He married Grace Beveridge on 27 July 1825 in Kinross, Kinross-shire, Scotland. He died on 25 July 1876 in Kinross, Kinross-shire, Scotland, at age 78.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Robert Burns-Begg Memorial in Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Sir William Bruce Mausoleum in Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland. Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet, born 1630, died January 1st, 1710 was a Scottish gentleman, architect, known as " the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland. " Bruce advised the Duke of Queensberry regarding his plans for Drumlanrig Castle. In 1670 the Duke of Lauderdale commissioned Bruce to remodel Thirlestane Castle. During the 1690s he completed Hill of Tarvit in 1696, Craighall from 1697 to 1699, in Fife, and Craigiehall in 1699 near Edinburgh. From 1698 he was working on a new house for the young Charles Hope, later first Earl of Hopetoun. Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, was completed in 1702.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Sir William Bruce Mausoleum in Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Sir William Bruce Mausoleum in Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Sir William Bruce Mausoleum in Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph shot today of the view of Loch Leven Castle from Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland. A royal stronghold that was granted to the Douglas family in 1390, the castle is first known to have been used as a state prison in 1316 when King Robert the Bruce imprisoned John of Lorne there. The castle’s most famous prisoner was Mary Queen of Scots, imprisoned there from 1567 until her escape in 1568.
Tour Scotland photograph shot today of the view of Loch Leven Castle from Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland.
Tour Scotland photograph shot today of the view of Loch Leven Castle from Kirkgate Graveyard in Kinross by Loch Leven, Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video shot today of folks singing for Children In Need in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Aadam Mohammed and friends raising money for Children In Need at lunchtime today in Perth. Fine folks ! Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Please attend the Children In Need event at St Johnstone FC Supporter's Club, 11 Barossa Street, Perth, this evening November 18th, 2011.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of houses and shops on the High Street in Forfar, Scotland. A Scottish town and former royal burgh in Angus,located in East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated. Forfar is a traditional market town, serving the outlying lowland farms of Strathmore in central Angus.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph shops, buildings and people on George Street, Oban, Scotland. Oban occupies a beautiful setting in the Firth of Lorn. Oban Bay is a near perfect horseshoe bay, protected by the island of Kerrera, and beyond Kerrera is Mull. To the north is the long low island of Lismore, and the mountains of Morvern and Ardgour. Oban is also known as "The Gateway to the Isles.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph shot today at dusk in Anstruther, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. This wonderful East Neuk fishing village in the Kingdom of Fife, just 9 miles South of St Andrews, is where I was raised in Scotland. I have a deep and abiding love of this area, and all of Fife.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this afternoon of The Royal Research Ship Discovery at Discovery Point, Dundee, Scotland. Misty and overcast when we arrived this afternoon in Dundee. The RRS Discovery was the last wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain. Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched in 1901. Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition, carrying Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first, successful journey to the Antarctic, known as the Discovery Expedition. She is now the focus of visitor attraction in her home in Dundee, Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this afternoon of St Rule's tower in the ruins of Cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. St Rule's tower is located in the Cathedral grounds but predates it, probably itself having been part of the Cathedral up to the early 12th century. The building was retained to allow worship to continue uninterrupted during the building of its much larger successor. Originally, the tower and adjoining choir were part of a church built probably in the 11th century to hold the relics of St Andrew.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this morning of the old church by the sea in St Monans, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. St Monans Church is situated within its kirkyard just to the west of the village on the very edge of the sea. It has a very dramatic setting, perched on a low rock, reached over a small valley with a burn. As seen from most directions it has the sea as a backdrop. A more modern cemetery stands further westwards on the upper slopes of the little hill. This contains the local war memorial. Standing at the extreme west end of this a romantic ruin can be viewed across fields, again perched on the sea edge. It is often said that St Monans is the church nearest the sea in the whole of Scotland.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this morning of the War Memorial in St Monans, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The St Monans war memorial is a grey granite celtic cross with wheel-head, bosses and celtic carvings in shallow relief on the cross-head face. It is located in the cemetery beside the old St Monans Church.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this morning of Kilconquhar Church, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Kilconquhar is pronounced locally as Kinneuchar. Women accused of being witches used to be thrown in Kilconquhar Loch, and if not drowned, this was seen as proof that they were witches and then they were burned at the stake! The spot where the church stands is thought to have been a Druidical place of worship and a burial ground long before the time of Christianity.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this morning of the coastline at Elie, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Bright sunshine this morning at low tide in Elie and Earlsferry. This area was first settled in Ancient times. It is said that MacDuff, the Earl of Fife, crossed the Forth here in 1054 while fleeing from King Macbeth. In particular the legend tells of his escape being aided by local fishermen, an act which may have led directly to the village being promoted to royal burgh status due to MacDuff's later influence over Malcolm III. By the middle of the 12th century, the Earls of Fife had instituted a ferry for the use of pilgrims en route to the shrine of Saint Andrew the Apostle at St Andrews. The ferry crossed the Firth of Forth to North Berwick, a distance of 7 miles, and it is this ferry that led to the naming of the place.
Tour Scotland video of a Wind Ensemble playing " I've got plenty of nothing " in St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Members of the Perth Symphony Orchestra playing in the Cathedral in Perth.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of a fishing boat cottage on the shore of Loch Long, Scotland. Born in 1847, Susie Reid lived for 60 years in this upturned fishing boat on the Loch Long shore at Portincaple, Argyll. For thirty years until his death in 1942, Portincaple was the home of Scottish artist James Kay.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Charing Cross, Glasgow, Scotland. Charing Cross is a major road junction in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde on Sauchiehall Street. Nearby landmarks include the Mitchell Library, the biggest reference library in Western Europe. Charing Cross was also part of the so called Square Mile of Murder, the location of a series of sensational murders which scandalised Victorian society. These horrific murders were committed not in the East End as expected, but in the fashionable and respectable West End of Glasgow. Madeline Smith was accused and found not guilty of lacing her doomed lover's late-night cocoa with arsenic; an eighty-three year old woman was brutally battered to death, and Jessie McPherson was brutally struck forty times with a meat cleaver.
Old photograph of a paddle steamer at the pier in Luss, Loch Lomond, Scotland. Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its original name is Clachan dubh, or " dark village ". Ben Lomond, the most southerly Munro hills, dominates the view north over the loch, and the Luss Hills rise to the west of the village. Saint Kessog brought Christianity to Luss in 510 AD.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Pitlochry,Perthshire, Scotland. A largely Victorian town, whose success as a tourist resort was due to Queen Victoria visiting the area in 1842, and the arrival of the railway in 1863. It remains a popular tourist resort today and is particularly known as a centre for hillwalking, surrounded by mountains such as Ben Vrackie and Schiehallion.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Cowgate, Errol, Carse of Gowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. Errol is located about halfway between Dundee and Perth. Errol is known for its reeds, which used to be collected up to a few years ago to make thatched roofs. These reeds grow in the banks of the River Tay and act as home to a fairly uncommon bird called the bearded tit. Errol has a large church, built in 1831, known as the Cathedral of The Carse. The street's name is probably derived from the fact that cows were herded down it for market days.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph shot this evening of Stovies and Oatcakes from a cafe in Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. A misty, overcast day in Scotland, a perfect evening for a bowl of traditional Scottish Stovies. Fife Stovies.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the Roman Bridge in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, located on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre. Musselburgh was first settled by the Romans in the years following their invasion of Scotland in AD80. They built a fort a little inland from the mouth of the River Esk and bridged the river here. In doing so they established the line of the main eastern approach to Scotland's capital for most of the next two thousand years. The bridge built by the Romans outlasted them by many centuries. It was rebuilt on the original Roman foundations some time before 1300, and in 1597 it was rebuilt again, this time with a third arch added on the east side of the river. The Old Bridge is also known as the Roman Bridge and remains in use today by pedestrians. To its north is the New Bridge, designed by John Rennie the Elder and built in 1806. This in turn was considerably widened in 1925. Tour Roman Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Kinnaird Castle, Carse of Gowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. The Kinnaird family built the original castle on this easily defended site in the Sidlaw Hills, but the estate was sold to Sir Patrick Threipland in 1674. The tower fell into ruin but was restored in the late 19th century.
The Kinnaird surname is of Scottish territorial origin from the barony of the same name in Perthshire, so called from the Gaelic " ceann " meaning " head " or summit, plus " ard ", high. Between 1204 and 1214, there is a record of a royal confirmation of a grant by Richard of Kinnard, grandson of Radulphus " Ruffus ". One, Rauf de Kynnard swore loyalty to Edward 1 of England at Kincardine in 1296. Attached to his homage is a seal bearing a shield charged with a saltier, cantoned with four crosses. William de Kynard was burgess of Perth in 1428 and a Thomas de Kynnarde was a notary of St. Andrews diocese in 1430. Interesting namebearers were George Patrick Kinnaird, first baron Kinnaird, died 1689, supporter of King Charles 11, knighted 1661, and Douglas Kinnaird, born 1788, died 1830, friend of Byron, who assumed chief management of Ransom's bank in 1819. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Radulphus Ruffus de Kinnard, which was dated circa 1180, during the reign of King William, " The Lion " of Scotland, born 1165, died 1214.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Lerwick, on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Lerwick is a name with roots in Old Norse and its local descendant, Norn, which was spoken in Shetland until the mid 19th century. The name "Lerwick" means bay of clay. The corresponding Norwegian name is Leirvik, leir meaning clay and vik meaning " bay " or " inlet ". Towns with similar names exist in south western Norway (Leirvik) and on the Faroe Islands as well. Evidence of human settlement in the Lerwick area dates back 3,000 years, centred around the Broch of Clickimin, which was constructed in the first century BC.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Auchmithie, location of the Scarlett Johansson film, Under the Skin in Scotland. Scarlett Johansson has recently been in this wee village in Scotland filming on her latest movie Under the Skin. Auchmithie was chosen because of the backdrop its picturesque, but rugged harbour could provide. A former fishing village located three miles north east of Arbroath. It sits atop a red sandstone cliff, high above a shingle beach. The Arbroath Smokie originated in Auchmithie. Sir Walter Scott stayed in the Waverley Hotel in Auchmithie and described Auchmithie in his novel The Antiquary published in 1816, under the name Musslecrag. Under the Skin is based on a novel of the same name by Michel Faber, who lives in the Black Isle. The book tells of an alien, Johansson's character in the film, who picks up hitchhikers on the A9 road in the Highlands to harvest body parts.
Tour Scotland photograph of Auchmithie, location of the film Under the Skin in Scotland.
Tour Scotland photograph of Auchmithie, location of the film Under the Skin in Scotland.
Tour Scotland photograph of Auchmithie, location of the film Under the Skin in Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Macduff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Macduff is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Banff across the estuary of the River Deveron. The settlement of Doune on the east bank of the river was purchased in 1733 by William Duff, who became the first Earl Fife. In 1760, James Duff, the second Earl built a harbour there and in 1783 succeeded in promoting Macduff to a Burgh of Barony. The 2nd Earl Fife appointed his factor, William Rose, as the 1st Provost of Macduff in 1783. The town celebrated its bicentenary in 1983.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of the Remembrance Sunday Parades in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. The traditional military parade comprised of local veterans, representatives of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and local cadets. The civic parade comprised of Perth and District Pipe Band, the Provost, Councillors, Council officials and members of the High Constables of the City of Perth.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Brodick, Island Of Arran, Scotland. The 19th century " clearances " led to significant reductions in population and the end of the Gaelic language and way of life on this Scottish Island. The economy and population have recovered in recent years, the main industry being tourism.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Fort William, Scotland. Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger. Historically, this area of Lochaber was strongly Clan Cameron country, and there were a number of mainly Cameron settlements in the area. The town grew in size as a settlement when the fort was constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell's invasion during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and then to suppress the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century. Fort William is now a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Methil, Fife, Scotland. Methil is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was part of the former Burgh of Buckhaven and Methil. It now lies within a continuous urban area described as Levenmouth. I was born in Randolph Street, Buckhaven. Located between Largo bay to the east and Wemyss Bay to the west is was once the industrial maritime powerhouse of this area of Scotland. Methil Docks was particularly significant during World War II for the movement of coal and other resources.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Uphall, West Lothian, Scotland. Uphall was historically known as Wester Strathbrock, with its neighbour Broxburn being Easter Strathbrock. Until the second half of the 19th century, both Uphall and Broxburn were small rural communities. The discovery and exploitation of local oil shale triggered massive growth as many people moved to the area to gain employment in the oil shale mines and associated oil works. Surrounding villages expanded rapidly as rows of miners' cottages were erected to accommodate the influx of people, most of whom came, in search of money, from Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland.
