Old Travel Blog Photograph Indoor Swimming Baths Portobello Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Indoor Swimming Baths by the beach in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1833 Portobello became an independent burgh with its own elected council. In 1896 the citizens succumbed to the blandishments of its larger neighbour and voted to amalgamate with Edinburgh, but not before extracting promises to build a Town Hall that could be used as a theatre, a golf course and sea water swimming baths. Portobello reigned as Scotland's premier seaside resort from the late 19th century and the era of cheap public transport. Trams brought folk from Edinburgh and trains brought holidaymakers in thousands especially from Glasgow during the Fair to enjoy the beach, the fun fair and the entertainments.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Road To Maybole Ayrshire Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the road to Maybole in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Maybole town is situated 9 miles south of Ayr and 50 miles South West of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Maybole is an ancient place, having received a charter from Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick in 1193. In 1516 it was made a burgh of regality, but for generations it remained under the subjection of the Kennedys, afterwards Earls of Cassillis and, later, Marquesses of Ailsa, the most powerful family in Ayrshire. The current Marquess of Ailsa lives at Cassillis House, just outside Maybole. The ancestral seat of the Marquesses of Ailsa is Culzean Castle.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Sheep Kirk Yetholm Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Sheep and children on the main street in Kirk Yetholm, Scottish Borders, Scotland. Kirk Yetholm is a small village in the Scottish Borders. The Border Hotel public house is the official end of the Pennine Way. Kirk Yetholm was for centuries the headquarters of the Romani people, Gypsies, in Scotland. The last king of the Gypsies was crowned in 1898 and the Gypsies have been integrated and are no longer a separate ethnic minority. In 1942 the village school building was converted into a Scottish Youth Hostels Association hostel. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Queen Esther Faa Blythe, perhaps the most famous Gypsy monarch of all, took up residence in the Gypsy Palace on November 16th 1861. After Queen Esther’s death in 1883, the Gypsy Palace was renovated by the local wool manufacturer and owner of much of the village, Peter Govanlock. Queen Esther’s son, Charles Faa Blythe continued to live in the Palace though 15 years were to pass before his coronation as the new Gypsy King. The coronation took place on May 30th 1898 and was a huge event with over 10,000 people descending on Kirk Yetholm. King Charles II, as he was known, continued to live in the Gypsy Palace until his death just four years later.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Rossdhu House Loch Lomond Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Rossdhu House on the banks of Loch Lomond, Scotland. Rossdhu is situated on the west shore of Loch Lomond, some two miles south of Luss and four miles north of Balloch. In ancient times the estate belonged to the Earls of Lennox and passed by marriage in the early 14th century to Sir Robert de Colquhoune. The old Castle of Rossdhu is thought to have been built at about the same time as St Mary's Chapel by the 11th Laird of Luss, Sir John Colquhoun of Clan Colquhoun. The original castle was very much a fortress and stronghold against the clan feuds which raged over the next century or so. Later the Castle was occupied twice by the Cromwellian forces, and it was not until the early 18th century that life in these parts became sufficiently settled to warrant creating a less fortified home. By 1718 the estate was reputedly vast and Sir James Colquhoun, the 25th Laird of Luss who succeeded his mother in 1732, married Helen, sister of the 17th Earl of Sunderland. He founded Helensburgh on the Clyde coast and named it after his wife, and in 1786 he was created a Baronet of Great Britain. In 1772 a start was made by his son James on the building of a new house at Rossdhu, on a site further to the east and overlooking the loch. In 1773 Boswell and Johnson stayed at Rossdhu while on their tour of Scotland.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Swimming Pool Tarlair Scotland

Old travel Blog ohotograph of the outdoor Swimming Pool at the base of a sea cliff just outside Macduff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This outdoor swimming complex was built in an Art Deco style with a main building backing onto the cliffs and changing rooms to its left hand side. It was commissioned by Macduff Burgh Council in 1929, with the architect being John C Miller, the Burgh Surveyor of MacDuff. The contractor for the project was Robert Morrison and Son of Macduff. The design of the pool was a clever use of pumped sea water to fill the pools, and flooding of the main pool at high tide to flush out the old water. The main pool had a diving board at the deep end and a child's chute at the shallow end, though both are now missing. The second-largest pool was a boating pool with the two remaining pools being paddling pools.



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

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