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 Drying Tweed Outer Hebrides Scotland
Old photograph of a crofter drying Tweed on Island Of Harris, Scotland. For centuries the islanders of Lewis and Harris, the Uists, Benbecula and Barra have woven cloth by hand calling it clò-mòr in the original Gaelic or big cloth. Originally this handmade fabric was woven by crofters for familial use, ideal for protection against the colder climate of the North of Scotland. Surplus cloth was often traded or used as barter, eventually becoming a form of currency amongst the islanders. The original name of the cloth was tweel, Scots for twill, it being woven in a twilled rather than a plain pattern. A traditional story has the name coming about almost by chance. Around 1830, a London merchant received a letter from a Hawick firm about some tweels. The London merchant misinterpreted the handwriting, understanding it to be a trade-name taken from the river Tweed that flows through the Scottish Borders. Subsequently, the goods were advertised as Tweed, and the name has remained ever since.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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