Old Photograph Muckairn Parish Church Taynuilt Scotland

Old photograph of Muckairn Parish Church and cemetery in Taynuilt, Scotland. Built in 1829 the church stands adjacent to the ruins of Killespickerill, once the seat of the Bishop of Argyll. Typical rural kirk of the reformed tradition: rectangular with large round headed windows and a bellcote. Two stones of antiquity are built into the walls of the present church. Tombstones from the 14th century can be seen in the graveyard.





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Old Travel Blog Photograph Toll House Pinwherry Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Toll House by Pinwherry, Ayrshire, Scotland. In the old days too, Toll houses with turnpike gates were set up by Act of law, the revenue being used for the upkeep of the roads. Such a toll house was to be found at Daljarrock and here the tolls were collected form traffic to and from Girvan. Another was situated at Pinwherry bridge for travellers going to and from Barrhill. Many people trying to evade paying the tax used the ford at Almont and joined the old back road opposite Pinwherry Home Farm, but Check Toll was built to catch the dodgers. 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 Hallow Chapel Pinwherry Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Hallow Chapel by Pinwherry, Ayrshire, Scotland. The farm of Hallow Chapel stands on the site of an old chapel deducated to All Saints and known as Allhallow or Hallow Chapel. The name Pinwherry and the many place names in the district are Gaelic or an ancient form of Gaelic and describe the characteristics of the countryside. Pinwherry itself means The hill in the hollow, surrounded by hills, where the waters meet; these waters being the Stinchar and the Duisk. The now ruined Pinwherry castle was a Kennedy property, and the builder of the castle is believed to have been John Kennedy of Banquarrie. In 1648 the property came into the hands of John, Earl of Carrick, and later into the possession of the Pollock family. Pinwherry railway station was an intermediate station on the Glasgow, Ayr, Girvan, Stranraer main line of the former Glasgow and South Western Railway. It was opened by the Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway on 5 October 1877. It closed on 7 February 1882, reopened on 16 February 1882, closed again on 12 April 1886, reopened again on 14 June 1886, and finally closed on 6 September 1965. The line itself remains open to regular passenger traffic. 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 Photograph Shore Road Ballantrae Scotland

Old photograph of a house on Shore Road, Ballantrae, Ayrshire, Scotland. Ballantrae is a village in Carrick, South Ayrshire. In June 1673, while holding a conventicle at Knockdow near Ballantrae, Alexander Peden, was captured by Major William Cockburn, and condemned by the Privy Council to four years and three months imprisonment on the Bass Rock and a further fifteen months in the Edinburgh Tolbooth. The town is the fictional setting of the novel The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Fancy Dress Parade Largs Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Scots at a fancy dress Parade in Largs in Ayrshire, Scotland. From its beginnings as a small village around its kirk, Largs evolved into a busy and popular seaside resort in the nineteenth century. Large hotels appeared and the pier was constructed in 1834. It was not until 1895, however, that the railway made the connection to Largs, sealing the town's popularity. The town is served by the railway line from Glasgow to North Ayrshire. Largs is the birthplace of the actors Daniela Nardini and John Sessions, the footballer Lou Macari and the golfer Sam Torrance. Though not born in Largs, musician and songwriter Graham Lyle of Gallagher and Lyle was brought up there and still returns to visit his holiday home.



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

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