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 boys fishing below the bridge over the Dye Water by Longformacus in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. The Dye Water, Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Dhàidh, is a river in the Lammermuir Hills. It rises in the Hope Hills, continues along the East Lothian boundary, a mile north east of Seenes Law, then east to Longformacus. The Dye Water joins the Whiteadder Water and completes its 12.5 mile journey. The Sir Walter Scott Way and the Southern Upland Way long distance walking footpaths also pass through Longformacus.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the River Leader, or Leader Water, a small tributary of the River Tweed in Lauderdale. It flows southwards from the Lammermuir Hills through the town of Lauder in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. The feeder burns, meaning streams, of the Leader Water are the Headshaw Burn, the Hillhouse Burn and the Kelphope Burn. They combine at the Carfrae mill hotel and the village of Oxton. The river is now sandwiched between the A68 and the A697, and it has absorbed the Cleekhimin Burn, Harry Burn, Washing Burn and Earnscleugh Burn. The Leader Water now passes to the east of the town of Lauder, by Thirlestane Castle. The A679 bridges the river which continues past Lauder Barns, West Mains and St. Leonards where the Leader receives his final feeder burn, the Boondreigh Burn. It now sticks closely by the A68, near the Whitslaid Tower, the Blainslies, Galadean, Birkhill, Chapel-on-Leader and Leadervale. After passing through the outskirts of Earlston, the course of the river is almost done, as it skirts some woodland, and after passing Drygrange, it joins the Tweed at Leaderfoot Viaduct. Nearby are Scott's View, Bemersyde House, Bemersyde Moss, Carolside, Dryburgh Abbey, the William Wallace Statue and the Roman forts at Newstead.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of fishermen fishing in the River Tweed in the Borders of Scotland. The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is 97 miles long and flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon fishing rivers of Britain. It flows primarily through the scenic Borders region of Scotland, and eastwards from the settlements on opposing banks of Birgham and Carham forms the historic boundary between Scotland and England. It rises in the Lowther Hills at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. " Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside " is a saying from the Border region. East of Kelso, it becomes a section of the eastern part of the border. Entering England, its lower reaches are in Northumberland, where it enters the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the school in Oxton, Scottish Borders, Scotland. This Scottish village is located 25 miles south east of the centre of Edinburgh. The village of Oxton was called Ugston for several hundred years and appears under that name as late as the 1841 census. As with all Scottish parishes its inhabitants were ruled by a combination of the Kirk Session and the Heritors, the latter being local landowners who were jointly responsible for funding all projects in the parish such as repairs or extensions to the church, the manse, the school, the churchyard, the schoolmaster’s house, and even the river bridges, all out of their own pockets. Saint Cuthbert, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne, was born here in AD635 and probably baptised his early converts at the nearby Holy Water Cleuch.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the church Manse in Swinton village located five miles South East of Duns in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. A manse is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, United church, Baptist and other traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin mansus, " dwelling ", from manere, " to remain ", by the 16th century the term meant both a dwelling and, in ecclesiastical contexts, the amount of land needed to support a single family. Many notable Scots have been called " sons, or daughters, of the manse", and the term is a recurring point of reference within Scottish media and culture. When selling a former manse, the Church of Scotland always requires that the property should not be called " The Manse " by the new owners, but " The Old Manse " or some other acceptable variation. The intended result is that " The Manse " refers to a working building rather than simply applying as a name. Swinton dates to the 11th century or earlier, and is associated with the Swinton family, who took their name from the settlement. In 1769, the village was re-designed and a market was created, now marked by the market cross. A parish church was built and still stands today. In the churchyard, the Swintons have their own burial enclosure. In 1843, the Free Church of Swinton was built, but in the 1900s the spire was removed and it became the local village hall.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
