Old Travel Blog Photograph Tartan Hotel Kinlochleven Scotland

Old photograph of shops, houses, hotel and people in Kinlochleven, Scotland. This Scottish village was formed from two previously separate small communities, Kinlochmore to the north of the River Leven in Inverness-shire and Kinlochbeg to the south of the Leven in Argyll, following the construction of an aluminium smelter and associated housing for its employees. A Scottish village in Lochaber located at the eastern end of Loch Leven. Kinlochleven is the penultimate stop on the West Highland Way





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Old Travel Blog Photograph Blackfriars Haugh River Lossie Elgin Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Blackfriars Haugh by the River Lossie by Elgin, a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. The mansion house was built for William Grigor in the mid 19th century and later remodelled in baronial style in 1882 for Mr A.G. Allan, a solicitor, by the architect William Kidner. It was then owned by a Mr John Macdonald, a retired tobacco manufacturer, formerly of the firm of J & D Macdonald. The firm was amalgamated with the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain and, following his demise in 1911, Macdonald left estate worth £105,684 and shares amounting to £93,311. In August 1918, Mr Hendry Russell Randall, of the Royal Worcester Warehouse Company, London, England, bought Blackfriers Haugh and its policies. He fitted the house up as a convalescent hospital and offered it to the American Red Cross for the benefit of wounded American officers and men. The mansion house finally became a family home again in the 1920s when it was bought by Mr H.C. Bibby. The family remained until the 1940s when it was gifted to the people of Elgin by Mrs Katherine Bibby. 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 River Creed Stornoway Isle Of Lewis Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of a cottage by the River Creed near Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The river flows through moors and forms a portion of the boundary between the parishes of Stornoway and Lochs then runs into Stornoway Harbour about ½ mile below the town. It is considered to be one of the best rivers on the Island for Trout or Salmon fishing.





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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Fishwives Curing Yard Lerwick Shetland Islands Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Fishwives in the Curing Yard in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Girls as young as 14 were given their first taste of freedom, as they followed the migratory route of the herring from Shetland down the east coast of England, gutting and packing these highly prized fish by the barrel full. Woken at 5.00am to the cry of " up lasses and wrap your fingers " the women would bind their fingers with material to protect them from the sharp knives and salt and then begin their long day, which, if the fishing catch had been good, could go on until midnight. Based in huts at one of the many curing stations, the gutters would work outside, unprotected from the elements. Despite the hardships and basic living conditions, the girls were renowned for their tough work ethic and strong sense of camaraderie. The gutting and packing women were integral to the success of the herring fishery. The first settlement to be known as Lerwick was founded in the 17th century as a herring and white fish seaport to trade with the Dutch fishing fleet. When Lerwick became more prosperous through sea trade and the fishing industry during the 19th century, the town expanded in 1891 to the west of Hillhead, thereby including the former civil parishes of Gulberwick und Quarff, as well as the islands parish of Burra. 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 Christening Orkney Islands Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Christening of a child on the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The father of the child was a Chief Petty Officer, who sadly died, not long after, on HMS Hood the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. When war with Germany was declared, Hood was operating in the area around Iceland, and she spent the next several months hunting between Iceland and the Norwegian Sea for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she sailed as the flagship of Force H, and participated in the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Relieved as flagship of Force H, Hood was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. In May 1941, she and the battleship Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which were en route to the Atlantic where they were to attack convoys. On 24 May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, Hood was struck by several German shells, exploded and sank within three minutes, with the loss of all but three of her crew. One tradition that followed an Orcadian birth remains strong today. Wetting the child’s head, was an inescapable custom that ensured the infant was brought luck. A bottle of whisky was brought out for the occasion and hastily consumed by the new father and the menfolk of the area.



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

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