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 travel Blog photograph of boats in the harbour in North Queensferry in Fife, Scotland. The village takes its name from Saint Margaret of Scotland, the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland, who is said to have established the village to ensure there would be regular ferry crossings across the Firth of Forth for the benefit of pilgrims travelling to St Andrews. Margaret is said to have made her arrival in Scotland here in 1068, and to have regularly used the ferry crossing when travelling between the then capital Dunfermline, and Edinburgh Castle. From around this time, the crossing became known as the Queen's Ferry.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of the pier at Longhope, a coastal settlement on the island of South Walls, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Longhope has been associated with the navy since trading ships heading for the Baltic were assembled into convoys here to avoid privateers during the Napoleonic Wars. The Longhope Hotel became the headquarters of the Scapa Flow Naval Base, home to the British Grand Fleet between 1914 and 1919, after which it moved to Lyness, 3 miles to the ?North. King George V visited in 1915, knighting Vice Admiral Sir Stanley Colville, Admiral Commanding Orkney and Shetland, at the hotel, and King Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, visited later the same year.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of cottages by the road through Glen Nevis near Fort William, Scotland. Glen Nevis is towards the end of the West Highland Way, a 95 mile walking route between Glasgow and Fort William. Glen Nevis has been home to the Cameron Clan since 1536. During the Jacobite rebellion Glen Nevis was a place where Highlanders would plan their attacks on the garrison Fort where the English soldiers were kept under siege for two days in April 1746. Several films have been shot in Glen Nevis, including some scenes from the Harry Potter movies, Highlander, Highlander III: The Sorcerer, Braveheart and Rob Roy.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of the Fairy Queen passenger steamer, built in 1897, on the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland. The Fairy Queen, which had accommodation for 200 passengers, made the return journey between Kirkintilloch and Port Dundas twice daily, and operated evening cruises from Kirkintilloch to Craigmarloch and back to Port Dundas. Kirkintilloch is a town and former royal burgh in East Dunbartonshire. It is located on the Forth and Clyde Canal, about 8 miles north east of central Glasgow. Following the Scottish victory in the wars of independence and the subsequent decline of Clan Cumming, the baronies of Kirkintilloch, Lenzie, and Cumbernauld were granted by Robert The Bruce to Sir Malcolm Fleming, Sheriff of Dumbarton and a supporter of the Bruce faction in the war. Hitherto part of Stirlingshire, the area subsequently became a detached part of the county of Dumbarton, in which it remains today. On 3 January 1746, the retreating Jacobite army of Bonnie Prince Charlie made its way through Kirkintilloch, on its way back from Derby, England, and on the march to Falkirk and ultimately Culloden. The town was one of the hotbeds of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland, beginning with the emergence of a booming textile industry in the area. There were 185 weavers in Kirkintilloch by 1790, and in 1867 James Slimon's cotton mill at Kelvinside employed 200 women. With the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canal through the town in 1773, and the establishment of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway in 1826, Kirkintilloch developed further as an important transportation hub, inland port and production centre for iron, coal, nickel and even small 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.
Old travel Blog photograph of cottages and bridge in Mennock, 2 miles South East of Sanquhar located North of Thornhill which is located north of Dumfries, Scotland. The village was known as Minnock Bridge in 1886 and the river was recorded as Minnick Water with its source 7 miles away on the north western slope of Lowther Hill. The water has its confluence here with the River Nith. The area is famous for its association with the Covenanters. A road overbridge lies a little way to the south carrying the B797 Mennock Pass road to Leadhills and Wanlockhead. A toll house stood just to the south of the junction on the western side. A weighing machine was located near this toll house, set into the road surface. By 1898 the toll house had closed and the weighing machine was no longer present.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
