Old Travel Blog Photograph Alastrean House Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Alastrean House by Tarland in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The house was built in 1905 by Lord Aberdeen, as a country retreat for his wife, and was originally surrounded by 9,000 acres of agricultural land which made up the Cromar Estate. An arrangement made in 1920 between Lord Aberdeen and his friend and neighbour, Sir Alexander MacRobert, saw the Cromar Estate and house eventually pass to Lady MacRobert in 1934. Alastrean House, whose name derives from a composite Latin phrase meaning “ a place of honour by the hearth of the winged heroes of the stars ”, was used as a rest and recuperation centre for RAF and Commonwealth aircrew on active service. After the war, Alastrean House continued to be used as a Royal Air Force officers’ leave centre until it was almost totally destroyed by fire in November 1952. The house was refurbished and re-opened at an impressive ceremony in April 1958.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Dawsholm Park Kelvindale Glasgow Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Dawsholm Park in the Kelvindale area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated on the River Kelvin, north of the River Clyde. The park was created from lands purchased by Glasgow City Council from Sir Archibald Campbell of Succoth, in 1922. As well as the woodland area, originally called the Belvidere plantation, the Council also purchased some grassy areas to the south of the woodland. Sir Archibald then gifted an area of land contaminated with oil shale waste adjoining the eastern boundary of the woodland. The council levelled and grassed over that area to form a recreation area laid out with football pitches. The woodland area of the park has always been kept in a natural state, and in 2007 Glasgow City Council designated the park as a Local Nature Reserve. As part of the environmental and ecological work in the park, Highland Cows are being used in a managed grazing programme on the grassy areas, to encourage the development of wildflower meadows.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Miners Welfare Institute Coalburn Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Miners Welfare Institute in Coalburn, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Coalburn is a small isolated village that lies on the Coal Burn, a tributary of the Douglas Water, 3 miles south of Lesmahagow. Coalburn developed from the 1850s as a railway settlement associated with local coal mines. The station closed to railway passengers in 1965 and the last colliery and mineral traffic on the railway was in 1968. The Miners Welfare Institute was opened in 1925 built from money supplied by the Lanarkshire Welfare Fund. This was set up by a levy of one penny per ton of coal extracted locally going towards the " social betterment of mining districts."




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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph The Fairy Bridge Dunblane Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Fairy Bridge over the Allan Water in Dunblane, Scotland. The Allan Water, Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Alain, is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. The river and its tributaries were once extensively used to power mills and factories. The major tributaries, the Muckle Burn and River Knaik, are mainly in hilly sheep farming terrain and no significant industrial use was made of them.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Pier Tighnabruaich Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the pier in Tighnabruaich, Kyles of Bute, Argyll, Scotland. A pier was built in the 1830s by the Castle Steamship Company, a forerunner of Caledonian MacBrayne. Its was a stopping place for paddle steamers and Clyde puffers. The wooden pier was rebuilt in 1885 by the Tighnabruaich Estate who owned it from 1840 until 1950. George Olding owned it until 1965 when it became the responsibility of the local council. This Scottish village is just an hour and a half west of Glasgow, and is located along the east coast of Loch Fyne and stretching into the Kyles of Bute.



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

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