Old Photograph Lighthouse North Ronaldsay Orkney Islands Scotland

Old photograph of the old lighthouse on the island of North Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Dennis Head, in the northeast of the island, is home to an historic lighthouse known as the Old Beacon. The light was first established in 1789 by Thomas Smith. It was to be the first of many island lighthouses for Smith, who had previously worked on the lights at Kinnaird Head and Mull of Kintyre. Smith received assistance with the North Ronaldsay light from Ezekiel Walker and from his stepson Robert Stevenson. In 1809 with the construction of other nearby lighthouses it was decided that the North Ronaldsay light was no longer required and it was extinguished. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to travel and 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 Minard Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Minard Castle on the North western shore of Loch Fyne near Inveraray, Scotland. This castellated mansion stands on a low promontory South of Minard Bay, bounded on the East by Loch fine and on the West by steep wooded slopes. It incorporates a plain Georgian house built by Archibald Campbell of Knockbuy, born 1693, died 1790, who was a noted improving landlord who since about 1740 had been developing the policies, North and West of Minard Bay. The estate was sold in 1842 to H W Askew, who immediately began extensive alterations and additions, completed in 1848, to the castellated designs of the Glasgow architect J T Rochead. It was owned by the Lloyd family from 1875 to 1938, and after a period of use as a hotel or guest house it was extensively renovated in the 1970s by the present owner. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to travel and visit one day.

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

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Old Photographs Whiting Bay Island Of Arran Scotland

Old photograph of Whiting Bay on the Island of Arran, Scotland. The village is approximately 3 miles south of the village of Lamlash. Whiting Bay is the third largest village on the island, after Lamlash and Brodick, and was once the site of the longest pier in Scotland. Like all villages on Arran, tourism is important to the village. To the north of the village at Kings Cross Point between Lamlash and Whiting Bay is an Iron Age fort known locally as the Viking Fort. According to local legend, this is the site where Robert the Bruce mistook farmers' fires on the mainland as the signal to launch his campaign. This site was also the location of a Viking ship burial excavated in the earlier 20th century. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to travel and 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 Isle of Eigg Scotland

Old photograph of Isle of Eigg, one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, located South of Isle Of Skye, Scotland. During the sixteenth century there was a lengthy feud between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans, which may have led to the massacre of the island's entire population in the late 16th century. According to Clanranald tradition, in 1577 a party of MacLeods staying on the island became too amorous and caused trouble with the local girls. They were subsequently rounded up, bound and cast adrift in the Minch but were rescued by some clansmen. A party of MacLeods subsequently landed on Eigg with revenge in mind. Their approach had been spotted by the islanders who had hidden in a secret cave called the Cave of Frances located on the south coast. The entrance to this cave was tiny and covered by moss, undergrowth and a small waterfall. After a thorough but fruitless search lasting for three to five days, the MacLeods set sail again but a MacDonald carelessly climbed onto a promontory to watch their departure and was spotted. The MacLeods returned and were able to follow his footprints back to the cave. They then rerouted the source of the water, piled thatch and roof timbers at the cave entrance and set fire to it at the same time damping the flames so that the cave was filled with smoke thereby asphyxiating everyone inside either by smoke inhalation or heat and oxygen deprivation. Three hundred and ninety-five people died in the cave, the whole population of the island except for one old lady who had not sought refuge there. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to travel and 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 Dunnet Head Scotland

Old photograph of Dunnet Head, Caithness, Scotland. Near the Dunnet Head lighthouse are minor fortifications built during World War II to protect the naval base at Scapa Flow, including a Chain Home Low radar station and a bunker used by the Royal Observer Corps during the Cold War. The lighthouse stands on the cliff top of Easter Head on Dunnet Head. Dunnet Head Lighthouse is 66 feet tall and was built in 1831 by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to travel and 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.