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 a crofter spinning wool outside a cottage on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Crofters here originally lived in blackhouses made of turf or stone, burned peat for cooking and heating, kept small black native cows and grew mostly oats on small strips of land which were fertilised by manure and seaweed. There was fishing from some of the sheltered bays on the east coast and on the neighbouring islands.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of golfers on the golf course at Carnoustie, Scotland. Golf is recorded as having been played at Carnoustie in the early 16th century. In 1890, the 14th Earl of Dalhousie, who owned the land, sold the links to the local authority. It had no funds to acquire the property, and public fundraising was undertaken and donated to the council. The original course was of ten holes, crossing and recrossing the Barry Burn; it was designed by Allan Robertson, assisted by Old Tom Morris from St Andrews, Fife, and opened in 1842. The opening of the coastal railway from Dundee to Arbroath in 1838 brought an influx of golfers from as far afield as Perth, Perthshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow, anxious to tackle the ancient links. Carnoustie first played host to The Open Championship in 1931, after modifications to the course by James Braid in 1926. The winner then was Tommy Armour, from Edinburgh. Later Open winners at Carnoustie include Henry Cotton of England in 1937, Ben Hogan of the USA in 1953, Gary Player of South Africa in 1968, Tom Watson of the USA in 1975, Paul Lawrie of Scotland in 1999 and Pádraig Harrington of Ireland in 2007.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Kyle of Lochalsh, across from Isle of Skye, Scotland. A ferry linked Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin for centuries, but the village boomed as the main terminus after the 1819 Inverness road and especially the 1897 Highland Railway arrival.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of fishermen by the harbour at Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. The name " Lerwick " comes from the Old Norse words Leirvík or Hladberg, meaning " muddy or clay bay " or "landing place," reflecting its natural topography. The location, sheltered by the island of Bressay, attracted Dutch fishermen in the summer for the rich herring grounds, The crews of Dutch herring boats found the rich fishing grounds off Shetland in the 17th century and gathered each summer in the sheltered waters of Bressay Sound, coming ashore at the bay at Lerwick where initially a seasonal settlement grow up. Fishing in various forms would dominate the life of the community for hundreds of years and today the modern industry is still a cornerstone of the way of life.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
