Old Photograph Diving Platform Swimming Pool Troon Scotland

Old photograph of the diving platform at swimming pool in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland. The Swimming Pond shown in the photograph opened in 1931. After being replaced by an indoor pool it was demolished in 1987, and the site is now a car park. Considerable expansion occurred in Troon from 1808, when the Duke of Portland added docks to the north. By 1812, a horse-drawn railway linked the town with the duke’s coal mines around Kilmarnock. Troon grew to become Ayrshire’s main coal port. A shipyard was established in 1860. Shipbuilding continued until 2000, with a peak period in the 1950s when many of Scotland’s early car ferries were built at the yard. Since the coal fields of Ayrshire have declined, tourism, particularly based around golf, and fishing have grown in importance to the economy. A catamaran links the town with Larne in Ireland for much of the year, while the harbour is now home to a large leisure marina.



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Old Photograph Glasgow Prestwick Airport From Control Tower Scotland

Old photograph of planes at the airport from the control tower at Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland. This Scottish airport began life around 1934, primarily as a training airfield, with a hangar, offices and control tower constructed by the end of 1935. The airport's original owner was David Fowler McIntyre, also the owner of Scottish Aviation with backing from the then Duke of Hamilton. MacIntyre and Hamilton were the first aviators to fly over Mount Everest in 1933. The United States Air Force, USAF, operated a base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force, RAF, facilities, the USAF Military Air Transport Service, MATS, 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS. The USAF base closed in 1966.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Main Street Bonar Bridge Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of shops, houses and cars on Main Street in Bonar Bridge, Sutherland, Scotland. This is a town on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland, in the Parish of Creich in the Highlands. The Battles of Invercarron and Carbisdale took place in 1650 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms close to the village of Culrain, which lies to the West of Bonar Bridge. The battles were fought between the forces of the Scottish Covenantor Government and royalist forces loyal to the King, led by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. The royalists were defeated. In 1746 the Earl of Cromartie and his forces returning South were attacked by Clan Sutherland near Bonar Bridge, in what became known as the Battle of Bonar Bridge. Most of the Jacobite officers were captured, many of the men were killed and the rest were driven onto the shore where several were drowned trying to swim the Kyle of Sutherland. Thus Clan MacKenzie were prevented from joining the Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden. John Murray was born on 14 October 1898, in the croft of Badbea, near Bonar Bridge, in Sutherland county. He was a Scottish Calvinist theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and then left to help found Westminster Theological Seminary, in London, England, where he taught for many years. Joe Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey, on 21 August 1952. His mother, Anna Mackenzie, a crofter's daughter born and raised in Bonar Bridge in the Scottish Highlands, she was a nurse. 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 Rocky Coast Portnahaven Island Of Islay Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and houses by the rocky coast in Portnahaven, Island of Islay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. This village is within the parish of Kilchoman. It is located at the southern tip of the Rinns at the southern end of the A847 road. The A847 follows the coast from Portnahaven to Port Charlotte and Bridgend. Its harbour is sheltered by the island of Orsay and its smaller neighbour Eilean Mhic Coinnich.



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

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Old Photograph Shop Strachur Scotland

Old photograph of a shop, cottages and vintage car in Strachur, Scotland. By tradition, Strachur has been held as one of the original strongholds of Clan Campbell, and in 1870 the principal landowners of the parish were Campbell of Strachur and McLachlan of that Ilk. The principle country houses there at that time were Strachur Park, Castle Lachlan, Strachurmore, Glenshellis, Balliemore, and Glenbranter. 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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