Old Travel Blog Photograph Road To Ballater Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the road through Gairn valley to Ballater, Royal Deeside, Scotland. There have been Highland Games held in Ballater since 1864. Balmoral Castle, the British Royal Family's holiday home is located close Ballater and the family has visited the town frequently since the time of Queen Victoria. Ballater railway station was closed in 1966. Ballater is a centre for tourism in Royal Deeside. I hope these might be of interest to folks with Scottish ancestry.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Land Rover Postbus Isle of Oronsay Scotland

Old photograph of a Land Rover Postbus delivering mail from Colonsay to the Isle of Oronsay, a small tidal island south of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Royal Mail postbuses have been providing transport services in some of the UK's most isolated locations since 1967. They offer a lifeline to rural communities, while allowing environmentally conscientious and budget travellers to explore far flung areas and benefit from local knowledge. The 220 postbus routes in the UK carry about 125,000 passengers each year and the buses range from estate cars and Land Rovers to mini-buses seating up to 15 people. The buses can be hailed anywhere along their routes. Services follow the pattern of mail deliveries and collections, and most vehicles provide a twice-daily service from Monday to Friday.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Highland Cows Agricultural Show Drymen Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Highland Cows at an Agricultural Show in Drymen, Scotland. A village in Stirling district in central Scotland. Drymen lies to the west of the Campsie Fells and enjoys views to Dumgoyne on the east and to Loch Lomond on the west. The Queen Elizabeth Forest reaches down to the village edge, and the whole area is part of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It is often used as an overnight stop for hikers on the West Highland Way, and forms the western end of the Rob Roy Way. Despite the growth in the numbers of villagers commuting to Glasgow to work, there remains an agricultural tradition in the area. The Scottish family name Drummond is derived from the Scottish Gaelic form of the village's name, 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 Potarch Bridge Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Potarch Bridge over the River Dee between Kincardine o'Neil and Banchory, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The bridge was built in 1811 by Thomas Telford as part of his commission on Highland roads and bridges, however, local people had been campaigning and fundraising for a bridge for over a century before hand, with records from 1698 detailing funds raised. The bridge was one of a small number Telford built in Aberdeenshire which were not constructed within a road project, but as stand alone structures which could provide great benefit on their own. The bridge itself is a substantial three arch stone bridge with a slightly larger centre arch flanked by matching smaller arches. It is perhaps a little grander than the many smaller bridges built by Telford, with triangular cutwaters on the piers rising to hexagonal refuges on either side of the roadway. The road is a little narrow by modern standards, and with a slight rise over the centre arch, but two cars can pass with safety.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Glencorse Reservoir Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Glencorse Reservoir in the Pentland Hills, Midlothian, Scotlan. The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is retained by an earth dam, and it was built between 1820 and 1824 by James Jardine to provide water for the mills of Auchendinny, Milton Bridge and Glencorse, and to supply drinking water to the citizens of Edinburgh. The reservoir is not the primary source of drinking water for Edinburgh, but instead provides a top up supply when the principal supply from the Megget Reservoir and Talla Reservoir are low. Glencorse also has inlet points from both of these reservoirs. The reservoir has also submerged St Catherine's Chapel.



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

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