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 coal lorry at the railway station in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line, within the former county of Caithness. It is the northernmost station on the National Rail network: 154 miles north of Inverness. The station opened on 28 July 1874.
Tour Scotland wee video of old photographs of Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. Thurso was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. A thriving fishing centre, Thurso also had a reputation for its linen cloth and tanning activities. Ruined Old St Peter's Church, St. Peter's Kirk, is one of the older churches in Scotland, dated to at least 1125, and at one time it was the principal church for the county, administered by the Bishops of Caithness. The church held hearings against criminal activity and determined how those caught should be punished. In 1701, a woman who had a relationship with a Dutch sailor had her head shaved and was publicly shamed, paraded through the town by the local hangman. 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.
Old photograph of a Gilchrist Biscuit Factory van in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Hamilton is a town in the central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fourth biggest town in Scotland. It sits 12 miles south east of Glasgow, 35 miles south west of Edinburgh and 74 miles north of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It is situated on the south bank of the River Clyde at its confluence with the Avon Water.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the school in Middlebie located two miles East of Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Middlebie Parish consists of the ancient parishes of Middlebie, Pennersaughs and Carruthers, united in 1609. Middlebie was the seat of a Presbytery from some time after the Reformation until 1743. It was then divided to form the Presbyteries of Langholm and Annan. Middlebie parish is now in the Presbytery of Annandale and Eskdale. It is bounded by the parishes of Tundergarth, Langholm, Canonbie, Half Morton, Kirkpatrick Fleming, Annan and Hoddam. The West Coast Main Line railway runs through the parish from London to Glasgow. In 1841 the population of the parish was 2,154 and about sixty of these people were hand loom weavers. There were inns and shops and the Lime Works at Blacketridge. Tradesmen listed in 1841 included joiners, shoemakers, tailors, cloggers, masons, millers, carters, grooms, gardeners, dressmakers and straw hat makers.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the school in Darvel, a small town situated ten miles East of Kilmarnock in East, Ayrshire, Scotland. James Morton was born at Gowanbank in Darvel in Ayrshire on 23 March 1867 the second son of Alexander Morton. His father founded the weaving company of Alexander Morton & Company, employing 600 persons in the late 19th century.He was educated at Darvel School then Ayr Academy. He did not go to university and was trained as a chemist at Morton Sundour Mills in Carlisle, when his family purchased Denton Mills in that city. The company greatly expanded the use of Arts and Crafts designs in the late 19th century. James specialised in permanent light-fast dyes and moved to Scottish Dyes Limited around 1895. He went on to direct the dyestuffs section of ICI. Morton aimed to make ' fast dyes ' that would not fade in sunlight , even if that meant sacrificing the variety of colours available to the consumer. He sent out sample test cards of dyed fabricto his brother-in-law, Patrick Fagan, who was working for the British colonial civil service in India, with instructions to leave the fabric exposed to direct sunlight for weeks and even months at a time. He was knighted in June 1936 by King George VI, and died on 22 August 1943 at Dalston Hall near Carlisle.
Tour Scotland video of old photographs of Darvel, a small town situated ten miles East of Kilmarnock in East, Ayrshire, Scotland. Darvel is situated on the A71 road that runs from Irvine on the west coast to Edinburgh on the east. The town is nine miles east of Kilmarnock and is the most easterly of the Valley Towns, the others being Galston and Newmilns. The land on which Darvel was built was owned by Earls of Loudoun and it was John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun who began the modern town in 1754 as an income for the estate. By 1780, the population had increased to over 400. In 1876, the art of lace making was introduced to the town and many mills were built to keep up with the demand. Sir Alexander Fleming, was born on 6 August 1881, at Lochfield farm near Darvel. He was a Scottish biologist, pharmacologist and botanist. His best known discoveries are the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the world's first antibiotic substance benzylpenicillin, Penicillin G, from the mould Penicillium notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy. On 24 December 1915, Fleming married a trained nurse, Sarah Marion McElroy of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland. Their only child, Robert Fleming, became a general medical practitioner. After his first wife's death in 1949, Fleming married Dr. Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas, a Greek colleague at St. Mary's, on 9 April 1953; she died in 1986. From 1921 until his death in 1955, Fleming owned a country home in Barton Mills, Suffolk, England. 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.
Old photograph of the school in Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland. This Scottish village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 by John Cockburn, born 1685, died 1758, one of the initiators of the Agricultural Revolution.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
