Tour Scotland photographs and videos from my tours of Scotland. Photography and videography, both old and new, from beautiful Scotland, Scottish castles, seascapes, rivers, islands, landscapes, standing stones, lochs and glens.
Old travel Blog photograph of cottages and houses on Sunbury Avenue in Clarkston in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. When a new road from Paisley to East Kilbride was built through the area in the 1790s, a toll point was set up where it crossed what was then the main route from Glasgow to Kilmarnock. A man named John Clark built a house at the toll, and the name Clarkston came to be used for the locality. The Maxwell family, owners of the Williamwood Estate, on which Clarkston was situated) advertised the creation of a new village there in 1801, but initially it grew slowly. Clarkston at this time had no industry of its own, and villagers were mainly employed in the mills at nearby Netherlee. The area began to expand more rapidly following the opening of Clarkston railway station by Busby Railways in the village in 1866, and later the expansion of the Glasgow tram network to Clarkston in 1921. The 1920s also saw the final breaking up of the Williamwood Estate, encouraging further house building.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of a house in Kirkstile, a small settlement within Ewesdale. Kirkstile forms part of the hamlet of Ewes on the Ewes Water, 4 miles North of Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The valley of the Ewes Water in North East Dumfries and Galloway, Ewesdale, or the Ewes Valley, extends north from Langholm for 10 miles towards the boundary with the Scottish Borders. The valley was occupied by the Armstrongs, Elliots, Littles and Scotts, but largely became the property of the Duke of Buccleuch in 1643. For many years it was known for its several corn mills. The A7 Trunk Road, which proceeds through the valley from Langholm to Hawick, was built in 1763 at the initiative of Sir William Pulteney, born 1729, died 1805. The Armstrong name has a mythological origin, in that it is said their heroic progenitor, Fairbairn, saved his king of Scotland in battle, and not from a wild beast as is the case with another Border clan, the Turnbulls. It is said that, dressed in full armour, he lifted the king onto his own horse with one arm after the King's horse had been killed under him in battle. The family crest, an arm clinched, records this act of heroism that was said to have been rewarded with a grant of lands in the Borders region and the famous Armstrong name. The first specific reference locating them in Liddesdale, which would become their family seat, is in 1376. Liddesdale was also the seat of their unquestioned power in the region that allowed them to expand into Annandale and Eskdale to accommodate their growing population. It is reputed that by 1528 they were able to put 3,000 horsemen in the field. The Armstrongs relationship with subsequent Scottish kings was turbulent to say the least. The most notorious event in this uneasy relationship occurred in 1530. John Armstrong, known in history as Gilnockie, was persuaded to attend a meeting at Carlingrigg with King James V who, unknown to Gilnockie, had the malicious intent to silence the rebellious Borderers. The ruse succeeded as Gilnockie and fifty followers were captured. The Royal order to hang them was issued and despite several pleas for the King to be lenient in exchange for obedience, it was carried out. Defiant to the last, Gilnockie said these words directly to King James V: " I am but a fool to seek grace at a graceless face, but had I known you would have taken me this day, I would have lived in the Borders despite King Harry and you both." In 1587 an act was passed by the Scottish parliament " for the quieting and keeping in obedience of the inhabitants of the Borders, Highland and Isles ... " That contained a roll of Chieftains and clans that confirms the status of Border families as an important part of clan history, and the Armstrongs as perhaps the most significant Border clan. The clan's authority resided intact at Mangerton in Liddesdale, a succession of Armstrongs retaining the Laird of Mangerton title, until 1610 when Archibald Armstrong was executed as a rebel. After this, the Armstrong lands passed into the hands of the Scotts. The clan is currently represented by the Clan Armstrong Trust in the Scottish border region. No clan chief currently exists. Gilnockie Tower Gilnockie Tower is the home of the Clan Armstrong and houses the Clan Armstrong centre.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of cottages and the Parish Church in Finzean, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In the 10th century the lands of Finzean became the personal property of Scottish Kings, who used the Forest of Birse as a hunting reserve. In the 12th century King William the Lion gifted the area to the Bishops of Aberdeen who continued to own it until the 16th century, during which they gradually sold off all the land. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Farquharson family acquired the whole of the eastern part of Finzean, while the Forest of Birse was owned by the Earl of Aboyne, but with ancient common rights retained by all the inhabitants of Birse parish to this day. Finzean was the subject of many paintings by the artist Joseph Farquharson, whose family have owned Finzean Estate, which occupies the eastern half of Finzean, since the 17th century.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of the Manse in the village of Bargrennan located 9 miles north west of Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The village is by the River Cree and on the A714 road to Girvan. The Southern Upland Walking Way runs through the village and the Glentrool Forest, managed by the Forestry Commission, is to the north east of the village. A manse is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, United church, Baptist and other traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin mansus, " dwelling ", from manere, " to remain ", by the 16th century the term meant both a dwelling and, in ecclesiastical contexts, the amount of land needed to support a single family. Many notable Scots have been called " sons, or daughters, of the manse", and the term is a recurring point of reference within Scottish media and culture. When selling a former manse, the Church of Scotland always requires that the property should not be called " The Manse " by the new owners, but " The Old Manse "
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old travel Blog photograph of the Caravan Site by the beach in Buckie, a town on the coast of the Moray Firth, Scotland. Once a thriving fishing and shipbuilding port, today Buckie is a small fishing town. George Imlach McIntosh, VC, was born in Buckie on 24 April 1897, he was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was 20 years old, and a private in the 1/6th Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders, British Army during the First World War. For his bravery at the Battle of Passchendaele, he was awarded the VC. He died on 20 June, 1968. 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.
