Old Photograph Cottages Buckhaven Scotland

Old photograph of cottages by the coast at Buckhaven, Fife, Scotland. Once a thriving weaving village and fishing port, in 1831, Buckhaven was reported as having the second largest fishing fleet in Scotland with a total of 198 boats. Fishing declined during the 19th century, but in the 1860s Buckhaven developed more into a mining town. Although coal waste blackened its beaches and silted up its now non existent harbour, it later became a Fife coast holiday resort and recreation area for locals.



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Old Photographs East Wemyss Scotland

Old photograph of children and buildings in East Wemyss, Fife, Scotland. This Scottish village was traditionally one of several coal mining communities along the south coast of Fife. The pit was its main employer for many years until it was closed in 1967 due to a fire which resulted in the deaths of nine men. East Wemyss is also home to the ruins of MacDuff's Castle, home to the MacDuff Earls of Fife, the most powerful family in Fife during the Middle Ages.





All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Old Photograph Muckle Yett Elie Scotland

Old photograph of the Muckle Yett doorway on South Street in Elie, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The Duke of York who became King James VII lodged in this house and the doorway is all that remains of the building. The doorway was retained when the house was rebuilt to form Gillespie House in 1870. Alexander Gillespie was a 17th century Fife sea captain. Until 1676, Gillespie voyaged throughout Europe in his ship the Anna, to Norway for timber; into the Baltic for iron, flax, hemp, and oaken boards; London and Rotterdam for manufactured goods and luxury items such as furniture, tobacco, garden seeds, and hoods and bells for hawks. The most profitable cargo for Gillespie, but one which involved the greatest risk and outlay, was wine from Bordeaux, which fetched the best price if it could be unloaded at Leith in Edinburgh in time for Hogmanay. Gillespie's outward cargoes were mainly coal and salt from the Firth of Forth, though occasionally he carried human cargoes too, such as a contingent of soldiers, which he delivered to Dieppe in 1671.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Old Photograph Northall Road Markinch Fife Scotland

Old photograph of a cottage, houses and people on Northall Road in Markinch village in Fife, Scotland. During the industrial revolution in the middle of the 19th century, the village started to adapt to spinning and weaving production. The use of water wheels of the corn and meal mills encouraged new industries to begin along the River Leven on land between Auchmuty, now part of Glenrothes, and Milton of Balgonie in the form of paper mills, bleach mills and ironworks. Papermaking was an important local employer based on the town's close proximity to the River Leven, until one of the two paper mills in the town, Sappi Graphics, closed down in 2001. The Tullis Russell paper mill, however, was still in operation, with a 474 strong workforce, until it went into administration in April 2015. Markinch's former Haig’s Whisky bottling plant is now used as a business park and is split into small units. The popular Markinch Highland Games are held in John Dixon park. Dougray Scott has previously opened the games.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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Old Photograph Railway Crossing Leuchars Fife Scotland

Old photograph of the railway crossing and hotel in Leuchars near St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The original Leuchars railway station, opened in 1848, was the start of a junction for the St Andrews line and was later joined by a new, larger station in 1878 to accommodate the Tay Bridge line. The original site closed as a junction with the new station's opening, but reopened as "Leuchars (Old)". The station was a significant junction for the St Andrews branch line until its closure in 1969.


All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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