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 The Arches, Alyth, Perthshire, Scotland. The ruins of the old church, known locally as The Arches, stand in a graveyard cemetery in a prominent position at the top of the town of Alyth. The structural remains of the medieval church consist of the three arches of what was probably the north arcade, together with the wall that divided the chancel from a chapel at the east end of the north aisle. The church appears to be identified first in a letter of King David II, dated 5 March 1352, which prohibited the holding of fairs at the church of Alyth.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Sir James Ramsay of Bamff gravestone in the old churchyard cemetery in Alyth, Perthshire, Scotland. The Ramsays held the lands at Bamff from 1232, Nessus de Ramsay having been physician to King Alexander II; his descendant, Alexander Ramsay was physician to both James VI and Charles I. It was his son, Gilbert who was made baronet in 1666 in recognition of his bravery at the The Battle of Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills, in Lothian, on 28 November 1666 which was the culmination of the brief Pentland Rising, from 15 to 28 November 1666. At least 3000 men of the Scottish Royal Army led by Tam Dalyell of the Binns opposed about 900 Covenanter rebels. The Pentland Rising was in the context of the long running government campaign to impose episcopalianism upon Scotland. The uprising began in St. John’s Town of Dalry, where troops were beating an elderly man who had defaulted on a fine for not attending government approved church services. The troops were interrupted by four covenanters and then supported by the local populace, who disarmed the soldiers. Robert McClellan of Barscobe led the Rising; he gathered some men in Dalry, led them to Balmaclellan, where after a skirmish with other troops, he raised more men. McClellan led them to Dumfries, and there they captured the local commander, General James Turner, at 5.30 in the morning, still in his nightshirt, in his lodgings on the Whitesands. McClellan, aided by Neilson of Corsock, took the gathering force up to Ayrshire, thence to Lanarkshire, and then to Colinton near Edinburgh, on their way to present their petition to the Parliament. Many deserted the group following bad weather, a poor choice of routes and the news received at Colinton that they could not expect a sympathetic reception in Edinburgh. From a peak of perhaps 3000 men the force had diminished by half at Colinton, and then further dispersed as the group headed home towards Galloway. The rebels included experienced professional soldiers as well as citizenry, and were commanded by Colonel James Wallace of Auchens. The rebel forces decided to hold a parade and review by Colonel Wallace at Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills. General Tam Dalyell of the Binns was with a force in Currie, and cut through the Pentland Hills to confront the rebels. The survivors were treated with cruelty; 15, including Neilson of Corsock, were hanged, drawn and quartered, and several, including two boys of 18, were tortured first with the boot.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the James Simpson gravestone in the old churchyard cemetery in Alyth, Perthshire, Scotland. Erected by James Simpson, Shoemaker, Alyth, and Peter Simpson, Merchant, Alyth. The surname is first recorded in Scotland in 1405, when William Symsoun appears in the Edinburgh Burgess rolls, whilst in 1482 Wylzame Symptsun, was declared innocent of detaining King James 111 of Scotland, in Edinburgh Castle.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
