Old photograph of Vat of Kirbister on the East coast of the island of Stronsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. The Vat of Kirbister is the most spectacular rock arch in Orkney. The island is now agricultural, but during the 18th and 19th centuries, kelp collection and herring curing employed up to five thousand people. The kelp burning industry was started by James Fea of Whitehall in 1727, and thrived during the remainder of the 18th century, lasting into the early 19th century; some of the kiln ruins can still be seen. The Stronsay beast was a mysterious, decomposing corpse of a sea creature that was stranded in 1808. The carcass measured 55 feet in length, with the " neck " 15 feet and the circumference of the body 10 feet. The corpse created a great stir, with some proclaiming it a sea serpent, but others have claimed it was a decayed basking shark.
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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 Photograph Horizontal Mill Dounby Orkney Islands Scotland
Old photograph of the Horizontal Mill in Dounby on the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The Click Mill at Dounby is the last of the horizontal watermills of Orkney still in use. Built in 1825 it is a small roughly rectangular dry flagstone rubble bulding, with a flagstone roof covered in turf.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.
Old Photograph Ward Hill Hoy Orkney Islands Scotland
Old photograph of Ward Hill on Hoy, an island of the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The hill forms a curved ridge, reminiscent of a ' J ' in shape. The lower slopes are covered in heather and grass, though the top of the ridge is covered in small stones with bare sandy soil. The highest summit is towards the northern end, and is crowned by a trig point. The ridge is well separated from the other hills of Hoy, and both the other Marilyns on the island have high topographic prominence. Ward Hill is separated from Cuilags by the Glens of Kinnaird, and from Knap of Trowieglen by the glen carrying the road between Moaness and Rackwick, in which lies the Dwarfie Stane. Ward Hill may be climbed from a variety of starting points. The northern side, directly above Hoy Village is steep and craggy, and thus presents the least appealing ascent route. The existence of Anastrepta orcadensis, also known as Orkney Notchwort, a liverwort found in the United States, Canada, and widely in Europe, was first discovered on Ward Hill by William Jackson Hooker in 1808. Hoy is the second largest in the archipelago after the Mainland. It is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to South Walls. In Norse mythology, Hoy is the location of the never ending battle between Hedin and Högni. Orkney Ferries serve the island with two routes, one of which links Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on Walls with the island of Flotta and Houton on the Orkney Mainland. The other route links Moaness in Hoy to the island of Graemsay and Stromness on Orkney Mainland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.
Tour Scotland Travel Video Summer Hail And Rain Cottage Garden Scone Perth Perthshire
Tour Scotland travel video of afternoon Summer hail and rain at 4pm on Friday, August 24th, in my cottage garden in Scone by Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Cooler and wetter weather is set to send temperatures plummeting for Scotland. Rainfall totals normally vary widely across Scotland, the western highlands of Scotland is one of the wettest places in Europe with annual rainfall up to 180 inches. Due to the mountainous topography of the western Highlands, this type of precipitation is orographic in nature, with the warm, wet air forced to rise on contact with the mountainous coast, where it consequently cools and condenses, forming clouds. In comparison, much of eastern Scotland receives less than 870 mm (34.3 in) annually; lying in the rain shadow of the western uplands. This effect is most pronounced along the coasts of Lothian, Fife, Angus and eastern Aberdeenshire, as well as around the city of Inverness. Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth receives only 21 inches of precipitation each year, which is similar to Rabat in Morocco, and less than Barcelona receives per year. Also, as a result of this the north western coast has about 265 days with rain a year and this falls to the south east to a minimum of about 170 days along the coast to the east of high ground.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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Tour Scotland Travel Video Rainy Visit To Glamis Castle Angus
Tour Scotland travel video of a rainy ancestry visit to Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland. Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, though the present building dates largely from the 17th century. Glamis was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, wife of King George VI. Their second daughter, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, was born there. In 1034 King Malcolm II was murdered at Glamis, where there was a Royal Hunting Lodge. In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth the eponymous character resides at Glamis Castle, although the historical King Macbeth had no connection to the castle. Glamis is currently the home of Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, who succeeded to the earldom in 2016.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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