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 Scottish Crofter handspinnning outside a cottage on the Isle Of Skye, Scotland. Spinning was a female task done in the home to provide bedding and clothing for the family. Most Highlanders lived in remote areas and small villages, so that all their possessions were hand crafted. It wasn't until the beginning of the 18th century that males started to spin as an occupation as part of " spinning schools " at the very start of the industrial revolution.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of a Crofter woman grinding oats outside her cottage on the Isle Of Skye, Scotland. In Scotland, oatmeal is created by grinding oats into a coarse powder. It may be ground fine, medium, or coarse, or rolled, or the groats may be chopped in two or three pieces to make what is described as pinhead oatmeal. Oatmeal has a long history in Scottish culinary tradition because oats are better suited than wheat to the country's low temperatures and high humidity. As a result oats became the staple grain of Scotland. The ancient universities of Scotland had a holiday called Meal Monday to permit students to return to their farms and collect more oats for food.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of a cottage near Fort William, Scotland. Historically, this area of Lochaber was strongly Clan Cameron country, and there were a number of mainly Cameron settlements in the area. The town grew in size as a settlement when the fort was constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell's invasion during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and then to suppress the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century. Fort William is now a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the cottage Post Office, Graemsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Graemsay is an island in the western approaches to Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The island has two lighthouses. Graemsay folks were a hardy race of farmers, fishermen and seafarers who over time suffered famine and plague, war and impressment, and raised large families to seek their fortune across the globe.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
