Old Photograph Entertainers West Sands Beach St Andrews Fife Scotland

Old photograph of Entertainers on West Sands beach in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.





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Old Photograph Coaching Inn Pentcaitland Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and a Coaching Inn in Pencaitland a village in East Lothian about 12 miles South East of Edinburgh, Scotland. The land where the village lies is said to have been granted by William the Lion to Calum Cormack in 1169, who gave the church, with the tithes and other property belonging to it, to the monks of Kelso, in whose possession it remained till a short time prior to the accession of King Robert Bruce. The land subsequently became the property of a younger branch of the Maxwell family, who granted the advowson and tithes to the monks of Dryburgh Abbey, who held them until the Reformation.





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

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Old Photograph Round Pond Castle Kennedy Scotland

Old photograph of the round pond at Castle Kennedy located 3 miles East of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The ruins of Castle Kennedy can be seen in the distance. Castle Kennedy was built in 1607 as a mansion house by the Earl of Cassilis, on the site of an older castle. It was acquired in 1677 by Sir John Dalrymple, later the Earl of Stair, though the house burned down in 1716. The 2nd Earl retained the ruin as a focal point for new formal gardens laid out in the 1730s.





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Old Photograph Esplanade Saltcoats Scotland

Old photographs of people walking on the Esplanade in Saltcoats, a small town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages along the shore. In the late 18th Century, several shipyards operated at Saltcoats, producing some 60 to 70 ships. The leading shipbuilder was William Ritchie, but in 1790 he moved his business to Belfast. By the early 19th Century the town no longer produced ships. 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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Tour Scotland Video Cloudy Drive B961 Road To Monikie Angus

Tour Scotland video of a cloudy drive on the B961 cross country road through Newbigging on ancestry visit to Monikie in Angus, Scotland. The Scottish violinist and fiddler James Scott Skinner lived in Monikie from 1906 to 1909. Skinner was born on 5 August 1843, the youngest of six children in Arbeadie village which later became part of Banchory, near Aberdeen. His father William Skinner was a dancing master on Deeside. His mother Mary Skinner, née Agnew, was originally from Strathdon. James was only eighteen months old when his father died. When he was seven, his elder brother, Alexander Forbes Skinner, gave him lessons in violin and cello. Soon the pair of them were playing at local dances. In 1852 his mother remarried and he moved to Aberdeen where he lived with his sister Annie, attending Connell's School in Princes Street, Aberdeen. In 1862 he won a sword dance competition in Ireland. The following year he won a strathspey and reel competition in Inverness. Gradually he broadened his district of clients until Queen Victoria learned of his reputation. She requested him to teach callisthenics and dancing to the royal household at Balmoral Castle. In 1893 he toured the United States with Willie MacLennan, the celebrated bagpiper and dancer.. After returning to Scotland he virtually gave up dancing and concentrated on the fiddle. He died on 17 March 1927 without giving another public performance. His body was buried in Aberdeen, where his marble memorial gravestone was unveiled by Sir Harry Lauder. Over 600 of his compositions were published, among the best known being The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord, Cradle Song, Bovaglie's Plaid, The Music o' Spey, and Hector the Hero. He made over 80 recordings.

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