Old Travel Blog Photograph Queen Mary Esplanade Largs Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of people on Queen Mary Esplanade by the beach in Largs in Ayrshire, Scotland. From its beginnings as a small village around its kirk, Largs evolved into a busy and popular seaside resort in the nineteenth century. Large hotels appeared and the pier was constructed in 1834. It was not until 1895, however, that the railway made the connection to Largs, sealing the town's popularity. The town is served by the railway line from Glasgow to North Ayrshire. Largs is the birthplace of the actors Daniela Nardini and John Sessions, the footballer Lou Macari and the golfer Sam Torrance. Though not born in Largs, musician and songwriter Graham Lyle of Gallagher and Lyle was brought up there and still returns to visit his holiday home.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph St Mary's College St Andrews Fife Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of St Mary's College in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The College was founded in 1538 by Archbishop James Beaton, uncle of Cardinal David Beaton on the site of the Pedagogy or St John's College founded in 1418. St Mary's College was intended to preserve the teachings of the Roman Catholic church against the heretical teachings of the reformers. It was dedicated to a revival of learning on the Continental trilingual model and from the outset laid emphasis on the knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew. In 1579, nineteen years after the Reformation brought fundamental changes to the religious life of the Scottish nation, St Mary's College was reconstituted as the Faculty of Divinity of the University.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Inchnacardoch Hotel Fort Augustus Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Inchnacardoch Hotel in Fort Augustus, at the south west end of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, Scotland. In the aftermath of the Jacobite rising in 1715, General Wade built a fort, taking from 1729 until 1742, which was named after the Duke of Cumberland. Wade had planned to build a town around the new barracks and call it Wadesburgh. The settlement grew, and eventually took the name of this fort. The fort was captured by the Jacobites led by Bonnie Prince Charlie in April 1745, just prior to the Battle of Culloden. In 1867, the fort was sold to the Lovat family, and in 1876 they passed the site and land to the Benedictine order. The monks established Fort Augustus Abbey and later a school. The school operated until 1993. The Caledonian Canal connecting Fort William to Inverness passes through Fort Augustus in a dramatic series of locks stepping down to Loch Ness. 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.

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Policeman Marine Parade Road Millport Island of Cumbrae Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph a Policeman a horse and rider and houses on Marine Parade Road in Millport on the Island of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde on the coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. During the development of the River Clyde as a main thoroughfare for goods, shipbuilding and smuggling, Millport was a strategic base for Customs and Excise. Several of the streets in Millport are named after crew members of the Revenue cutter Royal George. The Victorian era was a period of rapid growth, both in terms of population, governance, amenities and property. To the west and east of the old harbour, many fine Victorian and Edwardian villas were built, along with new tenements. These still form the backbone of the housing stock. Millport, along with Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, is famous with generations of daytrippers from Glasgow as one of the resorts visited going doon the watter, down the water, meaning taking a trip aboard a River Clyde paddle steamer. Millport has an 18 hole golf course, with views over the Arran hills and the Firth of Clyde. 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.

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Scottish Horse Regiment Pitlochry Perthshire Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Scottish Horse Regiment in Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland. The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Territorial Army from 1902 to 1956 when it was amalgamated with The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. It carries the traditions and battle honours of The Scottish Horse raised in South Africa in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War. The regiment saw heavy fighting in both the Great War as the 13th Battalion of The Black Watch and in World War II as part of The Royal Artillery.



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

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