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.
Old photograph of Crofters spinning and weaving in a cottage in the Scottish Highlands of Scotland. In 1840 over two thirds of the Scottish population lived and worked on the land, or in small villages making a living from fishing or weaving, and in the Highlands most people were almost universally impoverished.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
John MacLaren Erskine VC, born 13 January 1894, died 14 April 1917, was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. John was born in Dunfermline to William and Elizabeth Erskine. He was 22 years old, and a sergeant in the 5th Battalion, The Cameronians, Scottish Rifles, British Army during the First World War, when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 22 June 1916 at Givenchy, France.
David Ferguson Hunter VC, born in Dunfermline on 28 November 1891, died 14 February 1965, was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. David was 26 years old, and a corporal in the 1/5th Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC on 23 October 1918.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. The town expanded hugely in the 19th century thanks to the employment provided by the many textile mills which were built along the River Ericht. Soft fruit growing, mainly raspberries and strawberries developed in the 20th century and became a very important part of the town's economy.
Old photograph of Auchmithie, Scotland. Auchmithie is a former fishing village in Angus, Scotland, three miles north east of the town of Arbroath. It sits atop a red sandstone cliff, approximately 120 feet above a shingle beach which contains an unusual amount of jasper. In the dilapidated harbour, built in 1891, there are still some small fishing boats. The Arbroath Smokie, haddock hot smoked in a particular way, originated in Auchmithie. Sir Walter Scott stayed in the Waverley Hotel in Auchmithie and described Auchmithie in his novel The Antiquary (1816), under the name Musslecrag.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Sligachan, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Sligachan has always been an important junction on Skye, and the bridge across the River Sligachan forms part of the only road leading to the west end of the island. The bridge was built in the 19th century and consists of three arches. The middle arch is the widest, but the side arches are not mere flood arches, as the River Sligachan is a wide and ferocious piece of water for most of the year. The roadway is slightly humpbacked over the large central arch and only single track.
Old photograph of shops, buildings, horse and carriage and people in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland. Rob Roy MacGregor visited Crieff on many occasions, often to sell cattle. Rob Roy's outlaw son was pursued through the streets of Crieff by soldiers and killed. In the second week of October 1714 the Highlanders gathered in Crieff for the October Tryst. By day Crieff was full of soldiers and government spies. Just after midnight, Rob Roy and his men marched to Crieff Town Square and rang the town bell. In front of the gathering crowd they sang Jacobite songs and drank a good many loyal toasts to their uncrowned King James VIII.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of a tea room in Rouken Glen near Glasgow, Scotland. Rouken Glen Country Park lies some six miles to the south of Glasgow city centre with Newton Mearns to the south and Thornliebank to the north. The lands of Rouken Glen Park originally belonged to the Scottish Crown, and then to the Earl of Eglinton, presented to Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton on the marriage of his son in the year 1530 by King James V.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the River South Esk at Brechin, Scotland. Trade here arose principally from weaving, and there were at one time two mills for spinning flax, in which about 300 people were employed. King David I founded a bishopric here in 1150, and a portion of the old cathedral is now the parish church.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of a River Tay ferry at Dundee, Scotland. Until 18 August 1966 a passenger and vehicle ferry service across the River Tay operated between Craigie Pier, Dundee and Tayport, Fife. The service was discontinued upon the opening of the Tay Road Bridge. Three vessels latterly operated the service, the Paddle Steamer Nairn, and the two more modern ferries MV Abercraig and MV Scotscraig, equipped with Voith Schneider Propellers. The ferry service was popularly known in Dundee as " the Fifie ".
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of small fishing boats in the harbour at Bowmore, Islay, Scotland. Islay is the fifth largest Scottish island and the seventh-largest island surrounding Great Britain.
Famous Scots from Islay include;
Alexander McDougall, born 1732, died June 9, 1786, who was an American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a major general in the Continental Army, and as a delegate to the Continental Congress. After the war, he was the president of the first bank in the state of New York and served a term in the New York State Senate. McDougall was born on the Isle of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides and was one of the five children of Ranald and Elizabeth McDougall. In 1738 the family emigrated to New York, America, as part of a party led by a Scottish Army veteran, Captain Lachlan Campbell.
The Reverend Dr. Donald Currie Caskie, born 22 May 1902, died 27 December 1983, who was a minister in the Church of Scotland, best known for his exploits in France during World War II, during which he helped an estimated 2,000 Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen to escape from occupied France, mainly through Spain. The son of a crofter, he was born in Bowmore and was educated at Bowmore School and then Dunoon Grammar School before studying arts and divinity at the University of Edinburgh. His first charge was at Gretna, before becoming the minister of the Scots Kirk in Paris in 1938.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of cottages and people in cMuirhead near Dundee, Scotland. Many street names here have been inspired by the local environment, for instance, Post Box Road has a post box on it and Wood Road leads to a wooded area. There are also streets named after the late John Huband who was a very famous accordion player from the village and also wrote a huge amount of music in his day. The streets are John Huband Drive and Accordion Way and are located just off Dronley Road.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of a crofter making a basket for carrying peat in Scotland. Crofts, once the mainstay of Highland life in Scotland, were swept away as the land was put over to sheep grazing. Many of the people of the Highlands and islands of Scotland were forced from their homes by landowners in the Clearances. Some fled to Nova Scotia, America, Australia, and beyond.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of 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 of the Isle of Tiree, Scotland. An island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, south west of Coll. The island is at the same latitude as southern Alaska and the same longitude as the border between Spain and Portugal. Britain’s twentieth largest island, it is just over ten miles at its longest, five miles at its widest, and a little over half a mile at its narrowest. Isle Of Tiree is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides. Its name derives from Tìr Iodh, meaning land of the corn, from the days of the 6th century Celtic missionary and abbot St Columba. Tiree provided the monastic community on the island of Iona, south east of the island, with grain. In 1770, half of the island was held by fourteen farmers who had drained land for hay and pasture. Instead of exporting live cattle, which were often exhausted by the long journey to market and so fetched low prices, they began to export salt beef in barrels to get better prices. The rest of the island was let to 45 groups of tenants on co-operative joint farms: agricultural organisations probably dating from clan times. Field strips were allocated by annual ballot. Sowing and harvesting dates were decided communally. It is reported that in 1774, Tiresians were 'well clothed and well fed, having an abundance of corn and cattle.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. The first settlement to be known as Lerwick was founded in the 17th century as a herring and white fish seaport to trade with the Dutch fishing fleet. This settlement was on the mainland, the west side of Bressay Sound, a natural harbour with south and north entrances between the Shetland mainland and the island of Bressay.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Clark Hall, Paisley, Scotland. Paisley Town Hall, the George A. Clark Town Hall, was funded by Clarks, the owners of the local Anchor thread mill. This and many other remarkably grand buildings in Paisley, testify to the power, influence and success of the textile industry in the town.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of a Haggis Wrap from a cafe in Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. A rainy day in Scotland, a good day for me to try out this item on the menu, and it was very good. A toasted wrap filled with haggis and mozzarella and served with salad.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of crofters cottages in Glen Etive, Scotland. At the north end of Glen Etive lie the two mountains known as the Herdsmen of Etive: Buachaille Etive Mòr and Buachaille Etive Beag. Other peaks accessible from the Glen include Ben Starav, located near the head of Loch Etive, and Beinn Fhionnlaidh on the northern side of the glen. Glen Etive has been used as the backdrop to many movies, among them Braveheart and Skyfall.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Peat Carts on the Orkney Islands, Scotland. Crofters bringing home the peat. To get the peat back to their cottages, and ready for use was very labour intensive and there were several processes that the peat had to go through. In the past the whole process was carried out not by one individual, but by a group of Crofters, usually several families who got together to help each other.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of South Street, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The establishment of the present town began around 1140 by Bishop Robert. According to a charter of 1170, the new burgh was built to the West of the Cathedral precinct, along Castle Street and possibly as far as what is now known as North Street. This means that the lay-out may have led to the creation of two new streets, North Street and South Street, from the foundations of the new St Andrews Cathedral filling the area inside a two-sided triangle at its apex.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Cove, Scotland. Cove is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to Cockburnspath, Dunglass, Innerwick, Oldhamstocks, Bilsdean, and, further afield, Dunbar and Eyemouth. It is approximately 36 miles east of Edinburgh (slightly South-East) and is about 8 miles from Dunbar. The natural harbour was improved in 1831 by the building of a breakwater. Many fishermen lost their lives in the East Coast Fishing Disaster of 1881, and there is a memorial at the top of the cliffs.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the harbour at Crail, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Crail is the most easterly of the old fishing towns along the south coast of the East Neuk of Fife. It is also the oldest Royal Burgh in East Neuk, with a charter dating to the 12th century. In 1310 Robert the Bruce granted Crail the right to hold a weekly market.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan was originally a fishing port. In 1668, it became a municipal burgh incorporated by charter. Girvan is twinned with Torcy, Seine-et-Marne in France, in honour of a Scottish knight named Sir Thomas Huston originally from Girvan, who fought the English as part of the Auld Alliance during the Hundred Years War. Rewarding him for his bravery during the capture of Meaux in 1439, the King of France granted him the fiefdom of Torcy.
Old photograph of a pier in 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 ". The town of Oban is by Dunollie, a sixth-century Dalriadan stronghold and later seat of the MacDougall clan. Despite the long human history of its surroundings, Oban is a comparatively recent foundation. Planned town building in Scotland can be divided into two major periods, the first from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, the second covering the eighteenth century, and Oban belongs firmly in the second period. The first known house on the site was built around 1715, and by 1767 it had a post office and a customs house, although poor roads frustrated early attempts to improve Oban as a fishing station. The Duke of Argyll assisted the development of Oban, funding a new school and building a mansion house near the town, but more instrumental were the Stevenson family, who built a distillery and other significant buildings at the very heart of Oban. By 1800 the town was a registered port and a fast growing urban settlement, by 1811 a burgh of barony, and after 1833, it was a parliamentary burgh. From 586 people in 1791, the population of Oban had grown to 1,940 in 1861.
