Old Travel Blog Photograph Cowdray Hall Aberdeen Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Cowdray Hall in Aberdeen, Scotland. Lord Cowdray of Midhurst who was born Yorkshire, England, in 1856 was a successful businessman whose Company built Harbours and Railways. The Pearson family must have given Sussex a jolt when they arrived in 1909. Weetman Dickinson Pearson was an industrialist who built London’s Blackwall Tunnel and Dover Harbour. Overseas, he transformed Mexico City, acquiring a few oilfields along the way. In due course, the family would go on to buy everything from the Financial Times to Chateau Latour. With such wealth came the usual upward mobility. Weetman became a baronet in 1894, Baron Cowdray in 1910 and Viscount Cowdray in 1917. He was also an MP and during the 1st World War became a Government Minister in charge of building aeroplanes. Lord Cowdray and his wife had unusual medals made to give to friends as a token of their friendship; a portrait of Lord Cowdray appears on one side with Lady Cowdray on the other. Lord Cowdray owned estates in Aberdeenshire and in the south of England and gave his name to the Cowdray Hall which is part of Aberdeen Art Gallery.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Tower Room Crathes Castle Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Tower Room in Crathes Castle, Scotland. Crathes sits on land given as a gift to the Burnett of Leys family by King Robert the Bruce in 1323. In the 14th and 15th century the Burnett of Leys built a fortress of timbers on an island they made in the middle of a nearby bog. This method of fortification, known as a crannog, was common in the Late Middle Ages. Construction of the current tower house of Crathes Castle was begun in 1553 but delayed several times during its construction due to political problems during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. It was completed in 1596 by Alexander Burnett of Leys, and an additional wing added in the 18th century. Alexander Burnett, who completed the construction of Crathes, began a new project, the early 17th century reconstruction of nearby Muchalls Castle. That endeavour was completed by his son, Sir Thomas Burnett. Crathes Castle served as the ancestral seat of the Burnetts of Leys until given to the National Trust for Scotland by the 13th Baronet of Leys, Sir James Burnett in 1951. The castle contains a significant collection of portraits, and intriguing original Scottish renaissance painted ceilings survive in several Jacobean rooms. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Holy Trinity Church South Street St Andrews Fife Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Nave in Holy Trinity Church in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The current church is based on its medieval predecessor, allbeit with new sandstone walls, a south east chapel, the Hunter Aisle, vestry and session room. The design of the transepts and porch in particular, and the design of the church overall, are based upon a variety of medieval sources and conjecture. The nave has lean to aisles and large, intricate Gothic style traceried arched windows. The nave and chancel have a small parapet running below the roof line. Impressive water spouts jut out from this level. The nave and chancel also feature traceried windows based on various sources. The small round arched windows high up in the walls are based upon those at Linlithgow Palace or Stirling Castle.



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

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Tour Scotland Travel Photograph Mary Barbour Statue Govan Glasgow Scotland

Tour Scotland Travel photograph of the newly erected statue to social campaigner Mary Barbour in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland. Mary Barbour, née Rough, born 20 February 1875, died 2 April 1958, was a Scottish political activist, local councillor and magistrate. She was closely associated with the Red Clydeside movement in the early 20th century and especially for her role as the main organiser of the women of Govan who took part in the rent strikes of 1915. Her parents were Jean Gavin and James Rough, a handloom carpet weaver. She was the third of seven children. Barbour attended school until she was fourteen years old. In 1887, the family moved to the village of Elderslie and she gained work as a thread twister, eventually becoming a carpet printer. On 28 August 1896, she married engineer David Barbour, born 2 May 1873, died 13 November 1957, at Wallace Place, Elderslie. The couple settled in Govan. Prior to her death, Barbour lived at 34 Cromdale Street, Glasgow. She died at the age of 83 in the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, and her funeral was held at Craigton Crematorium in Cardonald, near Govan. The statue was completed in 2017 and unveiled in March 2018.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Road To Diabaig Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the narrow single track road to Diabaig in Wester Ross, Scotland. This remote Scottish coastal fishing and crofting township is located on the north shore of the sea loch of Loch Diabaig, an inlet off the north side of Loch Torridon. The villages of Alligin Shuas and Inveralligin lie to the South East along this road. A footpath continues along the coast from Diabaig, to the small settlement of Redpoint, near Gairloch. Loch Diabaig played the part of Loch Ness in the 1995 film of the same name. Ted Danson starred.



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

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