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 Eriskay, Scotland. Eriskay is an island of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Street view of Balquhidder Church, Scotland. Balquhidder was the scene of some of the exploits of Rob Roy, who died there in 1734. The local kirkyard is his final resting place, his grave marked with the appropriately defiant motto 'MacGregor Despite Them'. St Angus came to Balquhidder Glen in the 8th or 9th century and recognised what the Celts called a "thin place" where the boundary between Earth and Heaven was close. He knelt and blessed the glen and built a stone oratory at Kirkton, where he spent the rest of his life. Angus was the first to bring Christianity to Balquhidder. Behind the present kirk is Tom nan Angeae, the hill of fire, where until the 19th century hearth fires were renewed at Beltane and Samhain to encourage ancient gods to bring warmth to the land. Angus was buried at the foot of this hill and a flagstone laid over him which stands today in the present church. There are some foundations of the east end of the small medieval parish church of Balquhidder around the grave of Rob Roy and his family (which seem deliberately to have been buried at the site of its altar). A few metres to the west are the roofless ruins of this building's 17th century seccessor. The present church, built on a new site to the north of the ancient graveyard, is of 19th century date.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Street view of Edinample Castle, Scotland. This is a late 16th century Scottish castle on the southern shores of Loch Earn, Scotland. The castle takes the form of a Z-plan tower house, originally built by 'Black' Duncan Campbell (Donnchadh Dubh) of Glenorchy. It is built on land acquired by the Campbells after their campaign for proscription, and subsequent demise of the MacGregors. It is said that Black Duncan pushed the castle's builder off the roof, in part to avoid paying him, but also because he omitted to construct the ramparts that had been requested. It is also said that the ghost of the builder has been seen walking on the roof. The castle was extended in both the 18th and early 20th centuries, but fell into a state of dereliction by the early 1970s. It has now been refurbished for use as a private family home.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Trafalgar, Fife, Scotland. In the hamlet of Trafalgar are two spots, supposed to have been the sites of military stations erected to secure the pass from Newburgh to the interior of the county of Fife, from which circumstance a small lake between this place and Newburgh is called Lindores, from the Gaelic Linne-Doris, the loch of the pass. The eastern fort, called Agabatha, was seated on an eminence surrounded with a moat; and relics of antiquity have been discovered near the spot, among which was a quern or hand-mill of mica-slate, and a number of coins of the date of Edward I. The western fort, called Maiden Castle, is said to have derived that name from the daughter of the governor, who, concealing the death of her father during a siege, continued to give, herself, the necessary orders for its defence, till the assailants were compelled to abandon the attempt. The site of this fort is pointed out by some trees planted there by the late proprietor of the land. In the interval between the forts numerous coffins, urns, and human bones have been frequently discovered; the urns, one of which is still preserved at Kinloch, were of Celtic origin, about eighteen inches in height, and fifteen in diameter at the base, and extremely conical in form. Among the eminent persons connected with the parish, was Sir James Melville, proprietor of the lands of Hall Hill in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots; there are no remains of the mansion, and the site of it has disappeared since the inclosure of the lands. Dr. Hugh Blair was incumbent of this parish, to which he was ordained in 1742.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Street view of Dunure Castle, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Dunure Castle is located on the west coast of Scotland, in South Ayrshire, about five miles south of Ayr and close to the village of Dunure. Dunure Castle today stands in ruins on a rocky promontory on the Carrick coast, protecting the small Dunure harbour. The castle is the point of origin of the Kennedys of Carrick, who once ruled over much of south western Scotland and were granted the lands in 1357. In August 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots, visited the castle for three days during her third progress round the west of the country.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
