Old Travel Blog Photograph Steam Locomotive Railway Station Riccarton Junction Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of a steam locomotive in the railway station at Riccarton Junction in the county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders of Scotland. The settlement of Riccarton, which adjoins the station, consisted, in 1959, of around thirty houses, with at least one member of each household working for British Railways, which had a civil engineers depot near the station. The isolated position of Riccarton and the need to provide for the villagers may have been one reason why the station remained open until the late 1960s, as by this time ordinary public traffic was virtually non existent. The branch line from Riccarton Junction to Kielder and Hexham was closed 15 October 1956. The Waverley Route to Edinburgh was closed on 6 January 1969.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Railway Station Lindores Newburgh Fife Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the, now closed, railway station in Lindores by Newburgh in North Fife, Scotland. The Newburgh and North Fife Railway was a Scottish railway company formed to build a connecting line between St Fort and Newburgh, in Fife, intended to open up residential traffic between the intermediate communities and Dundee and Perth. It opened its line, which was expensive to construct, in 1909 but the local traffic never developed. It closed to passenger traffic in 1951, and completely in 1964. The line was worked from the outset by the North British Railway. There were intermediate stations at Kilmany, Luthrie and Lindores; Kilmany and Luthrie had passing loops and the three stations had ample 450 feet long platforms. There were also intermediate goods sidings at Rathillet, just west of Kilmany, and at Ayton Smithy, between Lindores and Luthrie.



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

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Old Aerial Photograph Cullen Scotland

Old aerial photograph of Cullen, Moray, Scotland. This Scottish fishing village located on the North Sea coast is noted for Cullen Skink, a traditional soup made from smoked haddock, milk, potato and onion, and its former railway bridges, two of which are now part of the national cycle network. These bridges were required, at considerable cost, due to resistance to the railway line being routed any closer to Cullen House. Robert Burns stayed overnight at, what was then, the old town of Cullen in 1787 during his tour of the Highlands. 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 Aerial Photograph Rothesay Scotland

Old aerial photograph of Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. During the Victorian era, Rothesay developed as a popular tourist destination. It became hugely popular with visitors from Glasgow. Rothesay was also the location of one of Scotland's many hydropathic establishments during the 19th century boom years of the Hydropathy movement. The town also had an electric tramway, the Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway, which stretched across the island to one of its largest beaches. However, this closed in the mid 1930s.



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

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Old Aerial Photograph Abbey Fort Augustus Scotland

Old aerial photograph of the Abbey 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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