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.
Tour Scotland video of stand up paddle boarding in the the River Tay on the canoe and kayak descent by the Old Bridge on visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of an RNLI inflatable lifeboat in the River Tay on visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, RNLI, is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways and rivers. Most lifeboat crew members are volunteers, who come from all walks of life and they are the very best of men and women.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour haunted Meggernie Castle in the heart of Perthshire, Scotland. Several ghost stories surround this Scottish castle, the best known dates from the time that the house was occupied by the Menzies's of Culdares. An early Menzies of Culdares married a very beautiful woman much younger than himself. However, her youth and attractiveness led him to become jealous of her and he is said to have murdered her in a fit of rage. After concealing her body in a locked chest in one of the castle towers, he absented himself for some time and after his return spread the story of how his wife had tragically met her death by drowning whilst the two of them had been travelling in Europe. Although the locals believed the story, Menzies still felt anxious and fearful and decided to dispose of the body in the nearby churchyard. Having cut the body in two, he managed to bury the lower half in the graveyard one night, leaving the upper part still in the chest. However, before he was able to bury the upper half, he met with foul play and the next morning his body was found at the entrance to the tower where the upper part of his wife's body still lay. Although Menzies had clearly been murdered, nobody was ever tried for the crime and his death remains a mystery. Most ghost sightings have involved guests staying at the castle who claim to have seen the upper part of a woman's body floating through the air. One visitor to the castle claims to have been awakened one night by the feeling of a red hot kiss on his cheek. When he sat up in bed he saw the ghostly form of a woman's torso moving away from his bed towards the wall, before passing through into the next room. During restoration work at the castle in the mid 19th century, workmen are said to have unearthed skeletal remains of the upper half of a woman's body. These were removed for burial, but sightings of her ghost were reporteded after this occurred. Claims have also been made that the buried lower half of the body haunts the nearby churchyard.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of Buachaille Etive Mor on visit to Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland. In a driving sequence in the James Bond movie, Skyfall, filmed in the Highlands on the A82 near the striking peaks of Buachaille Etive Mor and Buachaille Etive Beag, the secret agent's iconic Aston Martin DB5 manages to get upstaged by the stunning atmospheric scenery. The glen, approaching from the east on the main A82 road, is surrounded by wild and precipitous mountains.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of part of an afternoon drive on a narrow Scottish road to visit Kinrossie, Perthshire, Scotland. A farm in this area, Croft-An-Righ, is reputed locally to be site of the three witches in Shakespeare's MacBeth. Kinrossie is a linear village in the Perth and Kinross area. It is less than a mile south of the A94 road, 8 miles from Perth and 6 miles from Coupar Angus. The village retains several reed thatched cottages and a market cross dated 1686. In 1962 a former Free Church built in 1843 was converted into a village hall.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of part of an afternoon drive on a narrow Scottish road to visit Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie, is a burgh in Angus. Its history reaches back to earliest recorded times, when it seems to have been a major ecclesiastical centre. Later it was identified with witchcraft, and some older houses still feature a witches stane to ward off evil. In the 19th century, it was an important centre of the jute trade. The playwright J.M. Barrie was born and buried here, and a statue of Peter Pan stands in the town square. Though its importance as a market town has diminished, its former jute factories echo its past importance in the 19th century as the centre of a home weaving industry. Bon Scott of AC/DC was born in nearby Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir for a short time from 1947 until 1950 when his family emigrated to Australia, where the family lived in the suburb of Sunshine for four years before moving to Fremantle, Western Australia.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of part of an afternoon drive on a narrow Scottish road to visit Balkeerie, Angus, Scotland. A settlement located in West Angus, Balkeerie lies between Nevay and Eassie, 2½ miles east of Meigle and 4 miles West North West of Glamis. Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of part of an afternoon drive on a narrow Scottish road to visit Newtyle, Angus, Scotland. Newtyle is a village in the west of Angus. It lies 11 miles to the north of Dundee in the south west of Strathmore, between Hatton Hill and Heather Hill in the Sidlaws. The village sits on gently sloping ground with a north west aspect. The present Newtyle parish church was built in 1870 on the site of one built in 1767. The earliest-recorded church was granted to Arbroath on its foundation by William the Lion in 1178, and it was dedicated to an unknown saint by Bishop de Bernham in 1242.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of part of an afternoon drive on a narrow Scottish road to visit Kettins, Perthshire, Scotland. At the beginning of the 18th century the village was divided into an East Toon and a West Toon. Sixty two weavers, seven shoemakers and two brewers resided in the village, and there were many others engaged in agricultural, fishing, and other pursuits. Drunkenness and lax morality were prevalent and provided many problems for the Kirk Session which dealt with all cases of discipline within the parish. More serious cases, such as consistent neglect of duty and wife selling, were handed over to the Justices of the Peace.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of leaves in Tay forest park on ancestry visit to Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland. Tay Forest Park includes some of the most scenic areas of Highland Perthshire where a favourable climate and rich soil have nurtured Scotland's finest forests. Tay Forest Park includes the following: Craigvinean, Rannoch, Allean, Faskally, Drummond Hill, Weem, Grandtully, Queen's View, Braes of Foss & Dalerb.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland Autumn video of Annaty Burn on visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. According to local legend, in 1296 when it was known that King Edward I was going to remove the Stone of Destiny to England, monks from Scone Abbey are reputed to have removed the stone and hidden it in a safe place, and replaced it with a stone that was taken from the Annaty Burn. This may explain why some believe that the Stone of Destiny which rests in Edinburgh Castle is formed from exactly the kind of stone that is found around Quarrymill.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of photographs of St John the Baptist Episcopal Church on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. This Scottish church was designed by the Hay brothers of Liverpool, who had undertaken commissions for several Presbyterian churches. Hence its rectangular shape and galleries, rather than the traditional Anglican layout of Sanctuary, Chancel and Nave.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of the Pulpit in St John the Baptist Episcopal Church on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. The Pulpit dates from 1851 and is of Caen stone. The panels, depicting scenes from the life of John the Baptist were added in 1872. They are the work of Mary Grant who was born in Kilgraston, Perthsire. Her maternal grandfather was the seventh Earl of Elgin, her aunt was Mary Anne Grant, a portrait and landscape painter and her uncle was Sir Francis Grant, a highly successful portrait painter and President of the Royal Academy who was born in Edinburgh. She died on the 20th of February 1908.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of the Saint Patrick stained glass window in St John the Baptist Episcopal Church on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Saint Patrick was a 5th century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the Apostle of Ireland, he is the primary patron saint of the island along with Saints Brigid and Columba. St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, was born in the year 387 at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton. Which is in Scotland. Making Ireland's patron saint Scottish. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved as a shepherd for several years. He attributed his ability to persevere to his faith in God.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of the Saint Andrew stained glass window in St John the Baptist Episcopal Church on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. About the middle of the 10th century Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland. Several legends state that the relics of Andrew were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern town of St Andrews stands today. A local superstition uses the cross of Saint Andrew as a hex sign on the fireplaces in northern England and Scotland to prevent witches from flying down the chimney and entering the house to do mischief. By placing the St Andrew's cross on one of the fireplace posts or lintels, witches are prevented from entering through this opening. In this case, it is similar to the use of a witch ball, although the cross will actively prevent witches from entering, and the witch ball will passively delay or entice the witch, and perhaps entrap it.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of the Saint Elizabeth stained glass window in St John the Baptist Episcopal Church on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Elisabeth is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on November 5th, and in the Orthodox and Anglican traditions on September 5, on the same day with her husband Zacharias, Zechariah. She is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints, November 5th, of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod and Zacharias is commemorated as a prophet.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the King Edward VII visit on September 1908 to Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward was related to royalty throughout Europe. Before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, but his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.
Old photograph of Kennethmont located eight miles from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. William Milne, born in April 1785, died 2 June 1822, was born in this Parish. He was the second Protestant missionary sent by the London Missionary Society to China, after his colleague, Robert Morrison. Milne served as pastor of Christ's Church, Malacca, a member of Ultra-Ganges Mission, the first Principal of Anglo-Chinese College, and chief editor of two missionary magazines. Due to Milne's distinguished role in his missionary field, the University of Glasgow granted him a Doctor of Divinity in 1820.
Old photograph of the cottage Post Office in Kennethmont located eight miles from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland. This is the fourth post-World War II new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is located halfway between Scotlands's two largest cities, being about 30 miles east of Glasgow and 15 miles west of Edinburgh. The area around Livingston was previously an important shale oil area the world's first oil boom occurred, in West Lothian. This was based on oil extracted from shale, and by 1870 over 3 million tons of shale were being mined each year in the area around Livingston.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of Whitburn in West Lothian, Scotland. This small Scottish town is located halfway between Scotlands's two largest cities, being about 27 miles east of Glasgow and 23 miles west of Edinburgh. Elizabeth Paton or Bishop, mother of the first illegitimate child of Robert Burns, Elizabeth Paton Burns, married John Bishop, factor to the Laird of Polkemmet and was buried in the Whitburn churchyard.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Old photograph of the railway station at Munlochy, Scotland. A small Scottish village, in northern Scotland, lying at the head of Munlochy Bay on the Black Isle. The station closed in 1951 but the village continued to grow with the building of the Kessock Bridge in 1982. Despite its name, the Black Isle is not an island, but a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water, the Cromarty Firth to the north, the Beauly Firth to the south, and the Moray Firth to the east. On its fourth, western side, its boundary is delineated by rivers. The River Conon divides Maryburgh, a mile outside Dingwall, from Conon Bridge which is the first village on the Black Isle from the north western side. Its south western boundary is variously considered to be marked by either a minor tributary of the River Beauly separating Beauly, in Inverness-shire, and Muir of Ord, on the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty, dividing the two counties and also delineating the start of the Black Isle; or alternatively, the River Beauly itself, thus including Beauly in the Black Isle despite its official placement in Inverness-shire.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
