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 Bible in the Cathedral in Dunblane, Scotland. The Cathedral was once the seat of the bishops of Dunblane, also sometimes called of Strathearn, until the abolition of bishops after the Scottish Reformation. There are remains of the vaults of the episcopal palace to the south of the cathedral. Technically, it is no longer a cathedral, as there are no bishops in the Church of Scotland, which is a Presbyterian denomination.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Willison Memorial stained glass window in the Cathedral in Dunblane, Scotland. The Healing of the Sick window by Douglas Strachan, presented in memory of Mr and Mrs Duncan Willison. Dr. Robert Douglas Strachan was considered the most significant Scottish designer of stained glass windows in the 20th Century. Schooled at Robert Gordon's, he studied art at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, at the Life School of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, and the Royal Academy in London. From 1895 to 1897 Strachan worked in Manchester as a black and white artist on several newspapers, and as a political cartoonist for the Manchester Evening Chronicle, until ill-health forced him to return to Aberdeen. He died at Lasswade, Midlothian and is buried in the central section of the 20th century extension to Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the William M. Cowan, of the Massachusetts Infantry, gravestone in the cemetery by the cathedral in Dunblane, Scotland. One of the interesting aspects of the Cathedral is the cemetery surrounding it. Of particular interest to Americans may be one memorial marked for " William M Cowan, Massachusetts Infantry who died in Camp Readville US American in defence of the Union against the rebellion, April 1864 Aged 47 Years, " The memorial poses several interesting "mysteries". The inscription is interesting in that there is no Camp Readville. Readville is a town in Massachusetts where Camp Meigs was located. None of the records available show a William M Cowan, or William McCowan, which may be the name on the memorial. There is seems to be no information available either on who built the memorial or why it was built where it stands.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Doune Castle, Scotland. Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the son of King Robert II of Scotland, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert's stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. 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 mid 17th century, and during the Jacobite Risings of the late 17th century and 18th century. By 1800 the castle was ruined, but restoration works were carried out in the 1880s, prior to its passing into state care in the 20th century. It is now maintained by Historic Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
