Old Photograph Ferry Colonsay Scotland

Old photograph of people on the ferry to the Island of Colonsay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. Colonsay is an island in the Inner Hebrides, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil. Little is known of the early history of the Clan Macfie, however, it is certain that the clan served under the Lords of the Isles, descendants of Somerled, who ruled the Hebrides from the 14th century to the late 16th century. Following the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles in the late 15th century, the clan still attached itself to powerful Macdonalds. In the early 17th century the last chief of the clan was executed as Colonsay was lost to the control of a Macdonald. Without a chief of their own to control their home lands the clan was considered a leaderless " broken clan ". From this point on the Macfies followed the Macdonalds of Islay, though a branch of the clan was dispersed to lands controlled by Clan Cameron In the early 19th century Ewen Macphee became a notorious outlaw, " revered and feared by locals and despised by the authorities ". Today the modern Clan Macfie is alive with nine associated clan societies located around the world.



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Old Photograph Piper Kirkcaldy Fife Scotland

Old photograph of a Scottish Piper from Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. From the early 16th century, the establishment of a harbour at the East Burn confirmed Kirkcaldy's early role as an important trading port. The town also began to develop around the salt, coal mining and nail making industries. The production of linen which followed in 1672 was later instrumental in the introduction of floorcloth in 1847 by linen manufacturer, Michael Nairn. In 1877 this in turn contributed to linoleum, which became the town's most successful industry: Kirkcaldy was a world producer until well into the mid 1960s. Kirkcaldy has long been nicknamed the Lang Toun, Scots for " long town " in reference to the early town's main street. The street later reached a length of nearly 4 miles, connecting the burgh to the neighbouring settlements of Linktown, Pathhead, Sinclairtown and Gallatown, which became part of the town in 1876. The formerly separate burgh of Dysart was merged into Kirkcaldy in 1930. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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

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Old Photograph Railway Station St Combs Scotland

Old photograph of the Railway Station in St Combs near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. St Combs railway station opened in 1903 and closed in 1965. It was the terminus of a short branch line from Fraserburgh.


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

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Old Photograph Pier Inveraray Scotland

Old photograph of a passenger ship and people walking on the pier in Inveraray, Scotland. This a town in Argyll and Bute is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Argyll, and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll at Inveraray Castle. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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

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Old Photograph Druimarbin Scotland

Old photograph of Druimarbin by 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. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.