Old Travel Blog Photograph Royal Academy Irvine Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Royal Academy in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1572, King James VI provided funds to found the King's School of Irvine at Kirkgatehead. A new building was erected in 1816 and a Royal Charter granted in 1818 for the directorship of Irvine Royal Academy, which included the Earl of Eglinton, 11 councillors and all who subscribed £50 or more. The school was taken over by a school board in 1872 as a result of the Education Act and a new building was erected. It opened on 27 December 1901. After fees for secondary pupils wee abolished in 1927, the school roll rose and it became necessary to build an annex on Kilwinning Road, on the academy's sports field, in 1932. A replacement building, which became Ravenspark Academy, opened in August 1969. The old buildings remained open to serve pupils from Dreghorn and Kilwinning. In August 1992, the two academies were amalgamated into Irvine Royal Academy and in June 1993 the old school and its annexe were closed. The new Irvine Royal Academy was officially opened by Councillor Elliot Gray JP on 22 March 1994. In recent years Irvine Royal has been known for being a partner school of the Glasgow University.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Templehill Troon Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of shops and people in Templehill, Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland. It is to William Fullarton that Templehill owes its name. The area was the site of a summerhouse, built in the form of a Greek temple. This was removed to make way for a new harbour road. Troon is famous for its Royal Troon golf course, one of the hosts to the Open Golf Championship. Troon Harbour played a notable part in the development of the town for many years. It was home to the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company. Troon old railway station was one of the first passenger stations in Scotland as part of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway. The Grey Lady of Troon. The Grey Lady is a tale or fable that has surrounded Troon for years. She was first sighted by Jason Grant, a local farmer, in 1873. I hope these might be of interest to folks with Scottish ancestry.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Tour Scotland Travel Video December Road Trip Drive East Through Glencoe Scottish Highlands

Tour Scotland travel video of a December road trip drive East on the A82 road through Glencoe, on ancestry visit to the Highlands of Scotland. Early on the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1689 an incident known as the Massacre of Glencoe or Mort Ghlinne Comhann in Gaelic took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland. Thirty eight men from Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by government forces billeted with them on the grounds they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II. Another forty women and children later died of exposure after their homes were burned. Movie sets for the third Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, were built near to the bottom of Clachaig Gully.

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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Market Cross Ormiston Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Market Cross in Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland. Ormiston Cross stands in the middle of the pretty 1700s planned village of Ormiston. But the cross is much older, probably dating to around 1450, making it it one of the few medieval mercat crosses surviving in Scotland.





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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Road To Macduff Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the road to Macduff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Macduff is a former burgh and is now the only place in the United Kingdom where deep water wooden fishing boats are still built. William Duff became the first Earl Fife. In 1760, James Duff, the second Earl built a harbour here and in 1783 succeeded in promoting Macduff to a Burgh of Barony. The 2nd Earl Fife appointed his factor, William Rose, as the 1st Provost of Macduff in 1783. I hope these photographs are of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.

The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the Earls of Fife. Today the Earls of Wemyss are thought to be the direct descendants in the male line of Gille Míchéil, Earl of Fife, thought to be one of the first Clan MacDuff chiefs. The clan originates from the original Scotto Pictish lines who created the Kings of Scotland and the Earldom or Mormaerdom of Fife. The direct male line of the Mormaer failed in 1353 after King Edward I took Donnchadh IV prisoner in England. His aunt, Isabella, later gave the title to Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany and Regent of Scotland. In 1425 the earldom was absorbed into the crown, not withstanding the clan retained it status as first among clans. The title of The Fife returned with William Duff, 1st Earl Fife and Viscount Madcap in 1759. Later Alexander William George Duff, 6th Earl of Fife and 1st Duke of Fife, married the Princess Royal, HRH Louise, daughter of King Edward VII. The chiefs of the clan had the right to enthrone the King on the Stone of Destiny. In 1425 the last Earl of Fife, Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, was beheaded. The Clan MacDuff hereditary right of bearing the Crown of Scotland then passed to the Lord Abernethy. The current Lord Abernethy, and as consequence bearer of the Scottish Crown, is Angus Douglas Hamilton, 15th Duke of Hamilton.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.