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 the Screen between the Choir and Nave in the Cathedral in Dunblane, Scotland. In the original design of the Cathedral a large screen, probably of timber, would have stood separating the Choir from the Nave. While the screening of the people from the clergy and the sacrament plays no part in the theology of the Reformation, the screen faithfully recalls something of the Cathedral's original appearance. The Cathedral was once the seat of the bishops of Dunblane, also sometimes called of Strathearn, until the abolition of bishops after the Scottish Reformation. There are remains of the vaults of the episcopal palace to the south of the cathedral. Technically, it is no longer a cathedral, as there are no bishops in the Church of Scotland, which is a Presbyterian denomination. William Chisholme, the last Catholic bishop of Dunblane in 1561, later became bishop of Vaison in France.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel photograph of the River Lossie by Elgin, a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190 AD. It was created a Royal Burgh in the 12th century by King David I of Scotland. On 19 July 1224, the foundation stone of the new Elgin Cathedral was ceremoniously laid. The cathedral was completed sometime after 1242 but was completely destroyed by fire in 1270. In the 19th century the old medieval town of Elgin was swept away. The first major addition to the town centre was the Assembly Rooms, built in 1821 by the Trinity Lodge of Freemasons, at the corner of High Street and North Street. The Morayshire Railway was officially opened in ceremonies at Elgin and Lossiemouth on 10 August 1852. William Dunbar was born in 1749 in Thunderton House, Elgin. He was the youngest son of Sir Archibald Dunbar and Anne Bayne Dunbar. In 1763 he attended King's College, Aberdeen, and graduated from there in 1767. He emigrated to America arriving in Philadelphia in April 1771. In 1773 he and a Scottish merchant opened a cotton plantation in Florida and in 1792 opened another plantation in Mississippi. Dunbar became surveyor general in the Natchez area in 1798 and making his first meteorological observations in the Mississippi Valley in 1799. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him and fellow Scot Dr George Hunter to explore the Ouachita River region and travel all the way to the source of the Red River. They set out on 16 October 1804, traveling up the Ouachita River and on to the area of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Dunbar became the first man to give a scientific report of the hot springs, and his journal of the exploration was later published in Documents Relating to the Purchase and Exploration of Louisiana. He died in 1887. 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 children by the Boating Pond in Dingwall, Scotland. In 1411 the Battle of Dingwall is said to have taken place between the Clan Mackay and the Clan Donald. Dingwall formerly served as the county town of the county of Ross and Cromarty. It lies near the head of the Cromarty Firth where the valley of the Peffery unites with the alluvial lands at the mouth of the Conon, 14 miles North West of Inverness.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of children by a pond in Queen's Park, Glasgow, Scotland. This park was developed in the late 19th century in response to the increasing population density of Glasgow in general, and the South Side in particular, with the growth of tenement housing supplying the increased demand for middle class homes. Victorian Glasgow took the provision of open spaces extremely seriously, with the result that parks such as Queen's Park sprang up across the city. The park was acquired in 1857 and was designed by the world renowned Sir Joseph Paxton, also responsible for noted public parks in London, Liverpool, Birkenhead and the grounds of the Spa Buildings at Scarborough. The park was dedicated to the memory of Mary Queen of Scots and not Queen Victoria, a common misconception given the proximity to Victoria Road and that the park was created during her reign.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of the duck pond in Seamill located eight miles South of Largs in Ayrshire, Scotland. This Scottish village is named after one of its oldest buildings, the Sea Mill, a grain watermill that appears in Johannes Blaeu's Atlas of Scotland published in Amsterdam in 1654. The duck pond once had ducks but now it has been allowed to become overgrown with with weeds.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
