Tour Scotland Video Black Douglas Castle Moray

Tour Scotland travel video of Balvenie Castle on ancestry, genealogy, history visit and trip near Dufftown, in the heart of Speyside, Scotland. This Scottish castle was originally known as Mortlach, it was built in the 12th century by a branch of the powerful Comyn family, the Black Comyns, and extended and altered in the 15th and 16th centuries. The castle fell out of use in the early 14th century when the Comyns were reduced by Robert the Bruce. At some point in the 14th century the castle and the lordship of Balvenie passed into the earldom of Douglas. Nothing is documented as to how the Black Douglases first acquired the castle but the most likely account is that it came with the marriage of the heiress Joanna Murray to Archibald, the Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas in 1362. His son and successor Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas granted his younger brother James, the Gross, the lordship of Balvenie in 1408. James's main residence was at Abercorn Castle, a coastal fortress to the west of Edinburgh and Balvenie Castle's use was as temporary accommodation when the need arose.

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Tour Scotland Video Torosay Castle Isle Of Mull

Tour Scotland video of Torosay Castle on the on the Isle Of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland. It was designed by architect David Bryce for John Campbell of Possil in the Scottish Baronial style, and completed in 1858. John Campbell of Possil sold the castle and the estate to Arburthnot Charles Guthrie, a wealthy London businessman, in 1865. Following the sale of Guthrie Castle out of the Guthrie family, Torosay was generally acknowledged as the seat for Clan Guthrie.

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

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Tour Scotland Video Clan MacDougall Castle Loch Laich

Tour Scotland video of Castle Stalker a Scottish tower house or keep picturesquely set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe on the West Coast of Scotland. The original castle was a small fort, built around 1320 by Clan MacDougall who were then Lords of Lorn. Around 1388 the Stewarts took over the Lordship of Lorn, and it is believed that they built the castle in its present form around 1440. The Stewart's relative King James IV of Scotland visited the castle, and a drunken bet around 1620 resulted in the castle passing to Clan Campbell. After changing hands between these clans a couple of times the Campbells finally abandoned the castle in about 1840, when it lost its roof. In 1908 the castle was bought by Charles Stewart of Achara, who carried out basic conservation work. In 1965 Lt. Col. D. R. Stewart Allward acquired the castle and over about ten years fully restored it. Castle Stalker remains in private ownership and is open to the public at selected times during the summer.

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

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Tour Scotland Video Winter Drive Through Perthshire Highlands

Tour Scotland video of a Winter drive through the Highlands of Perthshire, Scotland. Perthshire straddles the Highlands and the Lowlands, offering a rich variety of scenery. Highland Perthshire is magnificently forested and the region has become known as Big Tree Country. Clans of Perthshire include;Campbell, Drummond, Graham, Hay, MacGregor, MacLaren, MacNeish, MacNab, Menzies, Moncrieffe, Murray, Rattray, Robertson, Rollo, Ruthven, Stuart and Stewart.

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Tour Scotland Video Winter Drive From Pitlochry To Foss Highland Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of a Winter drive from just outside Pitlochry to Foss by Loch Tummel in the Highlands of Perthshire, Scotland. Foss is a hamlet and a parish in Perthshire. The hamlet stands near the right bank of the river Tummel, 1½ miles West South West of the head of Loch Tummel, and 12 miles West of Pitlochry. John Stewart, the gamekeeper at Foss, and his family, are thought to have emigrated to Canada around 1859. They settled on the 2nd Concession, McNab township. McNab township was created in 1825, comprising roughly 80,000 acres of unsettled land, covering the current Town of Arnprior and Township of McNab, Braeside. It was granted by the government to Archibald 13th Laird of McNab, born 1779, died 1860, who had fled from his debts in Scotland. He promised to settle it with Highland clansmen, and the first group of eighty four settlers arrived the same year, 1825. McNab ruled with an iron fist over the Scottish settlers. Only after eighteen years of petitions, court battles, and appeals was his grip loosened when the government finally began issuing Crown grants to the settlers. His feudal powers removed, the Laird eventually sold his lands to the government and returned to Europe in 1852, never to return.

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