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 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.
