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Saturday 29 March 2008

John Farquharson Ancestry Tour of Scotland


John Farquharson Ancestry Tour of Scotland. This gravestone can be found in New Scone Cemetery, Perthshire, Scotland. To the memory of John Farquharson, late Officer of Inland Revenue at New Scone, who died at New Scone, 5th October, 1875, aged 89 years.

Tour New Scone, Perthshire, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Tour Roman Scotland. Golf Scotland.

Friday 28 March 2008

Best Scottish Cairngorms Youth Hostel


Best Scottish Cairngorms Youth Hostel. Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel. Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel, for budget accommodation in the Cairngorms. Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel is situated in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park, 7 miles from Aviemore and just 2 miles from the Cairngorm mountain railway and snowsports area. The 4 star hostel is an old Scottish shooting lodge and offers warm, comfortable accommodation and stunning views of the Northern Corries. It's an ideal base for all outdoor activities including hillwalking, climbing, snowsports, mountain biking, pony trekking, watersports and fishing.

Best Scottish Aberdeen Youth Hostel


Best Scottish Aberdeen Youth Hostel. Aberdeen Youth Hostel. Aberdeen is a beautiful city, with easy access to the countryside, fishing, golf and pony trekking. City based attractions include cinema, concerts and the arts.

Tour Aberdeen, Scotland.

Best Scottish Beach Youth Hostel


Best Scottish Beach Youth Hostel. Achmelvich Youth Hostel. Achmelvich Beach is a small and remote rustic hostel in wonderful surroundings, just a short walk to a legendary white sandy beach, listed in the Good Beach Guide. Now with a shower, the former school building and cottage have been tastefully transformed into a 36-bed hostel, with rooms of various sizes including one family room. Also offers a self-catering kitchen with microwave. There is an abundance of wildlife to watch, unrivalled coastal walks and a pace of life that relaxes and unwinds. Unforgettable sunsets practically guaranteed.

Best Scottish West Highland Way Youth Hostel


Best Scottish West Highland Way Youth Hostel. Crianlarich Youth Hostel. The small, friendly village of Crianlarich marks the halfway point on the West Highland Way and is an ideal stop for West Highland Way walkers and hillwalkers, with 20 Munros in the locality and trout fishing nearby. This popular hostel offers good facilities and a warm welcome. The hostel is a great base for exploring the northern area of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and is easily accessible with good communication links.

Best Scottish Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel


Best Scottish Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel. Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel. This 5 star hostel is located in the heart of the city, just a few minutes walk from Waverley Station and Princes Street and ideally situated for enjoying and exploring Scotland’s vibrant capital. This stylish and modern hostel is well equipped to suit the needs of single travelers, families and larger groups. Bedrooms range from single and twin through to 8 bedded rooms and all are en-suite. Full dining, licensed bistro and self-catering facilities are available giving you plenty of choice to suit any budget.

Tour Edinburgh, Scotland.

Scottish Clay Target Association


Scottish Clay Target Association. Welcome to the SCTA website. These pages are designed to assist all persons interested in Clay Target Shooting to attain a better knowledge of the sport and enjoy participating in what is one of the most exhilarating sports. Here you can see a little of the History of our Sport, the latest news from many Affiliated Clubs, the Safety Regulations , Fixture Information and an opportunity to contact the Management Board of the SCTA who are here to help all interested parties.

Best Scottish Tours of Dunbarney


Best Scottish Tours of Dunbarney. Dunbarney Parish Church, Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, Scotland. There has been a Christian witness within the parish for more than 1300 years. The present building was built in 1787 to replace an existing church on the same site. Dunbarney Parish Churchyard.

Scottish Stagecoach


Heavy rain this morning, followed by a dull afternoon. A Scottish Stagecoach on the road in the Earn Valley, Perthshire, Scotland.

Wednesday 26 March 2008

Best Scottish Route Planner

Best Scottish Route Planner.

Scottish Literature

Scottish Literature.

Scottish Encyclopaedia

Scottish Encyclopaedia.

Adam Ferguson Ancestry Tour of Scotland


Adam Ferguson Ancestry Tour of Scotland. This memorial can be found in St Andrews Cathedral Graveyard, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Adam Ferguson, born 1723, died 1816. Philosopher and historian, born in Logierait, Perthshire, Scotland, UK. He became professor first of natural philosophy in 1759, then of moral philosophy in 1764 at Edinburgh, and was a member of the Scottish common sense school of philosophy along with Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart. His works include an Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767), The History of the Progress and Termination of the Roman Republic (1783), and Principles of Moral and Political Science (1792).

Tuesday 25 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of St Rules Tower St Andrews


Best Scottish Tours of St Rule's Tower, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. St Rule's tower is located in the St Andrews Cathedral grounds but predates it, probably itself having been part of the Cathedral up to the early 12th century. The building was retained to allow worship to continue uninterrupted during the building of its much larger successor. Originally, the tower and adjoining choir were part of a church built probably in the 11th century to hold the relics of St Andrew. The nave, with twin western turrets, and the apse of the church no longer stand. The church's original appearance is illustrated in stylised form on some of the early seals of the Cathedral Priory. Legend credits St Rule, also known as St Regulus, with bringing relics of St Andrew to the area from their original location at Patras in Greece. Today the tower commands an admirable view of the town, harbour, sea, and surrounding countryside. Beautifully built in grey sandstone ashlar, and immensely tall, it is a land- and sea-mark seen from many miles away, its prominence doubtless meant to guide pilgrims to the place of the Apostle's relics. In the Middle Ages a spire atop the tower made it even more prominent. The tower was originally ascended using ladders between wooden floors, but a stone spiral staircase was inserted in the 18th century.

Monday 24 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Forgandenny


Forgandenny Parish Churchyard, Perthshire, Scotland. Forgandenny Parish Church is situated in the Earn Valley within the village of Forgandenny, three miles west of Bridge of Earn. Forgandenny Churchyard Photographs.

Sunday 23 March 2008

Robert Oliphant Ancestry Tour of Scotland


Robert Oliphant Ancestry Tour of Scotland. This gravestone can be found in Forgandenny Parish Churchyard, Perthshire, Scotland. Sacred to the memory of Robert Oliphant, late Schoolmaster, Forgandenny, who died 20th December, 1860, aged 42 years.

Tour Forgandenny, Perthshire, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Tour Roman Scotland. Golf Scotland.

Scottish Discount


Scottish Discount.

"I know your fee for the marriage, Minister, but since she is a widow, can you give me a wee bit of discount for wear and tear ?"

Saturday 22 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Dron


Dron Parish Churchyard, Perthshire, Scotland. Dron is a small village at the foot of the North slope of the Ochil Hills. Dron in 1846, a parish, in the county of Perth, just over one mile from Bridge of Earn; containing 441 inhabitants. The name in the Gaelic tongue signifies a projection, a term descriptive of the locality in which the church and manse are placed. The parish lies a mile south of the river Earn, and, including a tongue of land in Dunbarny parish, penetrating it, measures in length, from east to west, between three and four miles; it extends about three miles in breadth, comprising 4100 acres, and of these 2600 are under cultivation, 400 in wood, and the remainder hill pasture. It consists principally of a tract sloping towards the north from the Ochil hills, which form the southern boundary of the beautiful vale of Strathearn; and exhibits a series of wellcultivated and inclosed fields, seen to great advantage by travellers passing along the high road. Some of the hills on the southern extremity of the parish are ornamented with extensive plantations of fir, birch, ash, and other trees, disposed in belts and clumps; and the remaining high grounds in this direction present in general a smooth and verdant surface. Several rivulets run from the hilly parts, and the Farg, which abounds with fine trout, after flowing, from its source in the Ochil range five or six miles distant, through a deep, narrow, and well-wooded glen of great beauty, forms a boundary line between this parish and that of Abernethy, and falls into the Earn at Culfargie. The Soil varies in quality according to its proximity to the hills. The lands verging towards the north are clayey and loamy, with some till, and produce rich crops of wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, turnips, clover, peas, and beans. On the higher grounds, however, the earth is more shallow and mixed with rock; the best crops in this division, consisting of barley, oats, turnips, and potatoes, are produced chiefly in the flats and hollows, the other parts being too much exposed to high winds for successful farming, and large tracts are wholly unfit for cultivation, and afford only indifferent pasture for sheep and cattle. The husbandry in general is of a superior character, and in progress of improvement, especially in regard to tile-draining, which is extensively practised, and is particularly adapted to the soil, it being for the most part retentive and clayey. The substratum is freestone, which is occasionally quarried; and the indications of the existence of coal are so great that many attempts to find it have been made since the year 1758, though without success. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4300.

The chief residence is Balmanno Castle, once the seat of the Murrays, baronets of Balmanno, and now the property of the nephew of the last baronet, who was killed at the age of twenty-two at Long Island, in the American war: the edifice, part of which is very ancient, is still in excellent preservation, and is considered a fine specimen of an old castle and mansionhouse. There is also a neat modern mansion called Glenearn. The high road from Edinburgh to Perth runs through the parish; farming produce is sent for sale to Perth, Newburgh, and Kinross, and large shipments of potatoes are made to London. Dron is in the presbytery of Perth and synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the patronage of the Crown; the minister's stipend is £180, with a manse and glebe valued at about £45 per annum, and £4 per annum in lieu of coal. The church was built about the year 1816, and is a plain neat edifice, beautifully situated on an eminence at the base of the Ochils, commanding extensive views of the picturesque scenery of part of Strathearn, the Carse of Gowrie, and the Ochil range. The parochial school affords instruction in the ordinary branches; the master receives a salary of £34, and his premises and the school-house have been lately rebuilt at a cost of £560. In the churchyard is the grave-stone of John Welwood, a celebrated minister in the time of Charles II., who died at Perth in 1679, and was buried here during the night. An old chapel with a burial-ground, formerly standing at the entrance of Glenfarg, has been pulled down to give place to the new Edinburgh road; and the ruin of another yet remains in the west end of the parish. On the southern declivity of a hill opposite the church, is a large mass of whinstone, about ten feet long and seven broad, and deviating from the perpendicular, called the rocking-stone of Dron.

Scottish Humour


Scottish Humour.

Best Scottish Tours of Aberuthven


Best Scottish Tours of Aberuthven. Aberuthven was one of the earliest ecclesiastical foundations in Scotland. The Chapel is dedicated to St Cattan, Bishop and Confessor in the 6th century. In 1618, when Aberuthven Parish united with Auchterarder Parish, St Kattans lost its status as a Parish Church and fell into disrepair. The chapel, which is Statutory Listed Category B and a Scheduled Ancient Monument, is rectangular in plan and built of sandstone. There are two lancet, ogee-headed windows in the east wall and a 17th century bellcote on the west gable. During the 18th and 19th centuries three mausolea were built into the fabric of the ruined chapel. The Montrose Mausoleum which was built into the south wall of the chapel was designed by John Adam in 1736.

Tour Aberuthven, Perthshire, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Tour Roman Scotland. Golf Scotland.

Friday 21 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Tibbermore


Tibbermore Parish Church, Perthshire, Scotland. Tibbermore parish church dates from 1632, when the local lairds substantially rebuilt the structure, a church dedicated to St Mary existed during the late middle ages. Tibbermore Parish Churchyard. Tibbermore in 1846, a parish, in the county of Perth, four miles west of Perth; containing, with the villages of Hillyland and Ruthvenfield, 1651 inhabitants. This place was anciently the residence of several of the bishops of Dunkeld, of whom Bishop Geoffrey died here in 1249, and Bishop Sinclair in 1337. A convent for Carmelite friars was founded by Bishop Richard in 1262; and the prelates continued to hold their synods at Tibbermore till the year 1460, when they were removed by Bishop Lauder to his cathedral. The barony was once the property of the earls of Gowrie, whose seat, Ruthven Castle, is distinguished as the scene of the event called the Raid of Ruthven, an attempt made by the earl and his confederate lords to force James VI., whom Gowrie had invited to the castle on a hunting excursion, to dismiss his ministers, the Duke of Lennox and Earl of Arran, for which purpose that monarch was for some time detained in confinement. After the attainder of the earl for this conspiracy, the castle, of which the name was changed from Ruthven to Huntingtower, and the barony, were conferred by James VI. on the Tullibardine family, from whom they passed by marriage to the Duke of Atholl, by whose descendant the barony was divided into small portions, and sold to various persons. The first engagement between the Covenanters, under Lord Elcho, and the forces of the Marquess of Montrose, took place in this parish, when the former, amounting to 6000 men, were totally routed with the loss of 2000 slain on the field, and 2000 prisoners.

The parish, which is bounded on the east by the Tay, and on the north by the river Almond and the rivulet called the Pow, is about six miles and a half in length, varying from one mile to three miles in breadth; and comprises an area of about 5900 acres, of which 250 are woodland and plantations, 180 heath and peat-moss, and the remainder arable land in high cultivation. The surface is in some places boldly undulated, and the scenery agreeably diversified. A narrow level tract nearly three miles in length, and inclosed on the north, south, and west by steep banks rising from fifty to 100 feet in height, opens gradually towards the Tay into an extensive plain, through which flows a branch from that river, called the Mill-Lead, originally formed to drive some mills at Perth, and which has contributed greatly to the prosperity of this parish. The soil on the banks of the Almond is a sandy loam; towards the south-east, a tenacious clay; on the higher lands, a light gravel; and in the western portion cold and wet; though, by draining and good management, generally fertile. The system of agriculture is in a highly advanced state, and every improvement in husbandry has been adopted. The crops are, wheat, oats, barley, peas, potatoes, and turnips; the farm houses and offices are substantial and well arranged, and the inclosures in excellent order. The plantations, which have been much extended, are mostly Scotch fir; and on those of older date is some valuable timber. The substratum is chiefly the old red sandstone, in some places intersected with trap-dykes affording good materials for the roads. The sandstone is also of superior quality, and has been extensively quarried: three quarries are now in operation, from which was raised much of the stone used in the buildings of Perth and the vicinity. The rateable annual value of the parish is £9996. Huntingtower Castle, the property of General Cunningham, is in tolerable repair, but at present occupied by a tenant; it does not appear to have been a place of much strength: the two towers that defended the entrance are still entire. Newton, the residence of the general, is a handsome modern mansion, pleasantly situated in grounds embellished with thriving plantations.

There were formerly several villages; but they have mostly disappeared, and the only villages worthy of notice at present are the buildings in connexion with the bleaching and calico-printing works at Huntingtower-field and Ruthven-field. The bleach grounds at Huntingtower-field, belonging to Messrs. Turnbull and Son, are very extensive; the quantity of cloth bleached annually is about 1,500,000 yards, and from eighty to one hundred tons of linen yarn are bleached for a powerloom factory in the neighbourhood. The works afford constant employment to 150 persons, of whom nearly one-third are women and children. A little below these works, and on the same stream, are large flour and barley mills belonging to the company. Ruthven printfield, also on the same water, and belonging to Messrs. Duncan, of Glasgow, is on a very extensive scale; and in addition to the calicoes, the printing of mouselines de laine is conducted here with great success. The quantity of calico and muslin produced annually averages 2,000,000 yards, of which about two-thirds are printed by blocks, and the remainder by machinery: the works give employment to nearly 400 persons, of whom about one-half are women and children. Facility of communication is afforded by good roads, of which the turnpike-road to Crieff passes through Tibbermore for nearly three miles: the parish roads are kept in excellent order. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Perth and synod of Perth and Stirling, and the patronage is in the Crown: the minister's stipend is £255. 12. 10., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum. The church, rebuilt in 1632, and enlarged in 1810 by the erection of an aisle for their work-people by the Ruthven-field Company, is in good repair, and contains 600 sittings. The parochial school, situated near the church, is attended by about forty children; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, in addition to the fees. A school has been established at Ruthven-field, to the master of which the proprietors of the works allow a house rent-free, and guarantee a salary of £50, in the event of the fees not amounting to so much. There is also a parochial library, supported by subscription.

Tour Tibbermore, Perthshire, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Tour Roman Scotland. Golf Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of The Moot Hill


Best Scottish Tours of The Moot Hill. Scone was the Ancient Crowning Place of the Scottish Kings. They were crowned on an ancient mound which has been known by many names. Two of its names, Omnis Terra, every man's land, and Boot Hill, come from an ancient tradition whereby emissaries swore fealty to their king by wearing the earth of their own lands in their foot-bindings or boots. Another name is the Hill of Credulity, or Hill of Belief, which dates from AD 710 when the Pictish King Nectan came to Scone to embrace the customs of the Church of Rome. The name by which it is best known today is the Moot Hill. From the time of Kenneth MacAlpin, who created the Kingdom of Scone in the 9th century, all the Kings of Scots were crowned upon the Moot Hill, seated upon the Stone of Scone. Even after the Stone's removal by King Edward I in 1296, the Moot Hill continued to be the crowning place of the Scottish Kings. Probably the greatest historic event to take place at Scone was the coronation of Robert the Bruce, who declared himself King of Scots upon the Moot Hill on 25 March 1306. The last coronation held at Scone was that of King Charles II as King of Scots on 1 January 1651, some nine years before he was restored to the English throne.

Standing on the Moot Hill is a small Presbyterian chapel. Like the Palace, it was restored in Gothic style around 1804. A replica of the Stone of Scone sits upon the Moot Hill, marking the site of the original. Scone Palace.

Thursday 20 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Aviemore


Aviemore is a village on the River Spey, northeast of Kingussie. Originally the site of an inn on a Wade military road, it developed in the 19th century with the opening of the railway to Inverness, via Forres, in 1863. Tour Aviemore. Cairngorms Cottages Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Burrelton


Best Scottish Tours of Burrelton. Cargill and Burrelton Church, Perthshire, Scotland. Built as Burrelton Free Church in 1854. Burrelton village was laid out in 1812, and named after Peter Drummond Burrell, husband of Clementina Drummond, heiress of the Drummond Castle and Stobhall Estates.

Scottish Bellcote


Scottish Bellcote. The former Kettins Parish Church Bellcote, Perthshire, Scotland. This bellcote was removed from the church in 1893. The Flemish bell was given to Maria Troon and was cast in Belgium in 1519, by Hans Popen Ruider. The bellcote can be found in the churchyard.

Scottish Spring


Scottish Spring. Spring in Scotland, and the daffodils are out.

Scottish Pictish Symbol Stone Cross-Slab


Scottish Pictish Symbol Stone Cross-Slab. A symbol-bearing cross slab was found around 1865, acting as the cover of bridge over the Kettins Burn. It was removed and erected in Kettins churchyard close to the North wall. It is placed in a stone socket and measures approximately ten feet high, three and half feet wide, and ten inches thick. Now much worn, the slab still retains some sculptures of humans and animals. This massive sandstone sla was formerly used as a footbridge over the Kettins Burn; it now stands very close to the North West wall of the burial-ground of Kettins parish church, set in a modern base and further supported by metal clamps. Worn decoration survives on one face: the cross has been almost completely defaced, but three areas of ornament on the shaft can still be detected, comprising a band of interlace and square panels of key-pattern and interlace. What may be the tail of a Pictish beast is visible to the left side of the top of the cross, and there are four panels of worn ornament on the right side. These comprise: a beast with curled tail; a winged beast; a figure between two animal-headed mon sters; a pair of facing beasts biting each other's tails.

Wednesday 19 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Redgorton


Best Scottish Tours of Redgorton. Redgorton Parish Churchyard. Redgorton in 1846, a parish, in the county of Perth, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Perth; containing, with the villages of Bridgetown, Luncarty, Craighead, Cromwell-Park, and Pitcairn-Green, and part of the late quoad sacra district of Stanley, 1929 inhabitants. This parish comprehends the three ancient, and now united, parishes of Redgorton, Luncarty, and St. Serf's, which are supposed to have been formed into one about the period of the Reformation; the Presbytery records, which extend back to 1619, speaking of them as at that time consolidated. The original orthography of Redgorton was Rochgorton, a form used in a charter of King David preserved in the chartulary of Scone, in which he conveys the church to the abbey of Scone. The prefix of the present name, though probably created by the corruption of illiterate pronunciation, is yet a correct translation of the Gaelic prefix Roch, or Ruach, which signifies "red." Gorton, or Garton, implies "a little field;" and the whole word, Redgorton, or "the red field or field of blood," is generally considered as having been applied on account of the celebrated battle of Luncarty, which took place here. Of the three old parishes, that of Redgorton belonged to the abbey of Scone; to the parish of St. Serf, a name corrupted from St. Servanus, was attached the barony of Huntingtower; while Luncarty was a parsonage, not connected with any corporate or collegiate institution. The district was memorable in ancient times for military operations. The Roman station Orrea was situated at the confluence of the Tay and the Almond, in the parish; the traces of it are still visible, and it is supposed to have covered twelve acres of ground. Near this spot, Roman urns have been found containing ashes and burnt bones, particularly two of large dimensions, which some conjecture to have held the ashes of Aulus Atticus, who was killed in the celebrated battle with Galgacus, at the foot of the Grampian mountains, and of Agricola's son, who died in the eighth year of his father's expedition into Britain. A Roman road from Ardoch, on the ridge of Gask, leads to this station; and the piers that supported the bridge by which the Tay was crossed, are yet to be seen in the bottom of the river at this place. Orrea continued to be an important station throughout the twenty-five years that Lollius Urbicus was lieutenant in Britain, to A.D. 161; it is supposed to have been abandoned in the year 170, and again occupied, by the Emperor Severus, in 209. Altogether, it appears to have been in the hands of the Romans for about 125 years.

But the most interesting occurrence connected with the district is the memorable battle of Luncarty, which was fought about the year 990, in a field on the banks of the Tay, two miles above the mouth of the Almond, and in which a signal victory was obtained by the Scots, under Kenneth III., over the Danes, through the valour of the peasant Hay and his two sons. The Danes, having landed a great force at the mouth of the Esk, took and destroyed the town and castle of Montrose, and slaughtered all the inhabitants. Thus successful, they were about to lay siege to Perth, then called Bertha; upon which the King, having received intelligence of their invasion, hastily marched from Stirling, and fixed his camp upon Moncrieff hill, attended by his nobles, retainers, and many countrymen who had followed him. Hearing, however, of the danger which threatened Perth, he immediately marched thither, passing the enemy, and taking up his station at Luncarty. After some skirmishing, the Danes came down from an eminence on which they had posted themselves; and a general and desperate engagement took place, which issued in the precipitate flight of the main body of the Scots, both wings having been previously routed. At this critical time, a man named Hay, who was working in an adjacent field, observing the panic of the Scots, who were vigorously pursued by the Danes, seized the yoke of his plough, and taking his two sons who were then with him, and who each seized whatever implement they could lay hold of, they all crossed the shallow part of the Tay, and by remonstrances and threatenings stopped the flight of their countrymen. By some prodigious efforts of valour, these three men checked the fury of the Danes, and gave the Scots an opportunity of rallying upon an eminence which still retains the name of Turn-again hill, when, several fortunate circumstances occurring to the Scots, in the renewed conflict, the Danes were completely routed. Their general, who was the King himself, was slain; and there is a stone yet remaining, which bears the name of Denmark, raised on the spot to perpetuate the memory of his fall. The monarch is said to have immediately given Hay his choice of the territory that could be traversed by the greyhound's course, or compassed by the falcon's flight, as a reward for his bravery. Hay having chosen the falcon's flight, the bird was let loose from a neighbouring hill, and pursued its course as far as the borders of Errol parish, where it alighted on a large stone which has since borne the name of the Hawk's Stane; and all the intervening ground was given in perpetuity to the family In memory of the battle, the Hays still bear as their arms the instrument of victory, with the allusive motto Sub jugo. It should be observed, however, that though these particulars are generally credited, there are some who dispute the authenticity of the account, and trace this ancient family to the stock of De la Haye, of Norman origin.

The parish is divided into two detached parts, the lower of which lies at the confluence of the Tay and the Almond, and the upper beyond the parish of Moneydie, at the foot of the Grampians. The former is about six miles long and two broad, and contains above 6400 acres. It is bounded on the east by the Tay, which separates it from the parishes of Scone and St. Martin's; on the north by the parishes of Auchtergaven and Kinclaven; on the south-west by the Almond, which divides it from the parishes of Tibbermuir and Methven; and in the west and north-west by the Coldrochie, the Shochie, and Ordie, which separate it from the parish of Moneydie. The upper part, called the Barony of Mullion, is about three miles long and three-quarters broad, and contains only 1200 acres. The Shochie divides it from Auchtergaven on the north; and a stream called Crachie separates it from the extinct parish of Logiealmond, annexed to the parish of Moneydie quoad sacra. These two divisions are as dissimilar in appearance as they are in dimensions. The surface of the lower district is diversified by numerous undulations, the highest of which, however, do not rise more than 100 feet above the level of the sea; the whole lands are under cultivation, and generally subdivided by thorn hedges. The ridges and knolls are to a great extent planted with wood, which abounds also in other parts of the parish; and they present in many places beautiful scenery, and command distant prospects, especially the ridge of Redgorton, which embraces a view of Scone park and palace, of the bridge and city of Perth, with its fertile valley, and of the noble Tay, of which the eye catches many glimpses through the opening woods. The soil of this division varies, sometimes changing suddenly from a deep rich loam to a cold till, and in other places being a dry gravelly or sandy earth. The upper district consists of open moorland, uninclosed field, and mountains covered with heath; the soil is a sharp, gravelly, or moorish loam; and though, if well cultivated, it produces good grain, the great elevation of the land exposes the crops to injury from early frost. There is a lake in the Barony of Mullion, but of small extent, though its depth is said to be considerable. The only streams running through the parish are the Shochie and Ordie, both tributaries of the Tay, which river, and the Almond, flow for six miles along the lower boundary.

About 5780 acres are cultivated; 600 are in grass, 860 under wood, and 440 acres uncultivated. Oats and barley are grown in considerable abundance, with the usual green crops; but potatoes form the chief article in the produce of the soil, their annual value amounting to £6358. The sort here cultivated is known by the name of the Perthshire-red, and has long maintained a high character in the London market. The cattle were formerly a mixture of different forms and sizes; but within the last thirty years they have mostly consisted of a cross between the Teeswater and the Ayrshire. The most improved system of husbandry is followed; draining, and the recovering of waste land, have for some time been regularly practised; and many great improvements, especially in plantations and ornamental scenery, are owing to the late Lord Lynedoch, who held about two-thirds of the whole parish. The woods on his lordship's property comprise nearly 800 acres, consisting to a large extent of oak, the acorns for which were selected with the greatest possible care. The rocks in the lower part of the parish are principally grey sandstone, of excellent quality for building; red sandstone is found along the channel of the Almond, and in the upper district greywacke exists to a considerable degree. The rateable annual value of Redgorton is £7713.

The chief villages are, Pitcairn-Green, Luncarty, Bridgetown of Almond, Craighead, and part of Stanley. There are bleachfields at Luncarty, Pitcairn-Field, and Cromwell-Park, of which the first is the most extensive in the country; about 2,000,000 yards are annually bleached at these works, the greater portion damask, and 120 hands are employed. There are also two power-loom establishments, two or three flax-spinning mills, and a cotton-spinning mill, in all of which business is carried on to a great extent. On the Tay are several salmon-fisheries, the value of which, however, has much fallen off within these few years; one of them, formerly worth £550, now returns but £65 per annum. The quality of the salmon is considered very superior. The turnpike-road from Perth to Dunkeld runs through the parish for four miles, and has a branch by Stanley: the Inverness mail and the Dunkeld coach pass and repass daily. There being no bridge in this part across the Tay, the passage is made by a commodious boat; the Almond has three bridges, one of which is more than 200 years old. The ecclesiastical affairs are directed by the presbytery of Perth and synod of Perth and Stirling; patron, the Crown: the stipend of the minister is £189, and there is a manse, with a glebeland valued at £18. 6. per annum. The church, built in 1776, is situated nearly in the middle of the lower part of the parish, and contains 700 sittings; it is well fitted up, but is very inconveniently placed for the population in the upper district, being from seven to eight miles distant from some of the inhabitants. A very handsome chapel of ease has been erected at Stanley, the minister of which has a stipend of £150, ensured by a bond, from the manufacturing company belonging to the place, who also supply a house gratuitously. There are places of worship for members of the United Secession and Original Seceders. A parochial school is also maintained; the master has the maximum salary, with a house and garden, and about £30 fees. There are still to be seen the remains of some round camps in the neighbourhood, with numerous tumuli, generally supposed to be the burial-places of native chiefs.

Tuesday 18 March 2008

Best Scottish Film Archives

The Scottish Screen Archive is Scotland's national moving images collection. It preserves over 100 years of Scottish history on film and video. A virtual tour of old Scotland. Films of Scotland. Scottish Screen Archive at the National Library of Scotland.

Monday 17 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Rothesay Castle


Best Scottish Tours of Rothesay Castle. Rothesay Castle, Isle of Bute, had a long and close association with the Stewart Kings of Scotland. In the 16th century, a forework including a great hall, was added to the 13th century enclosure. This circular castle is worth a visit on any tour of Scotland.

Sunday 16 March 2008

Scottish March Parade


Coupar Angus Horse Fair Parade through the town, including local community groups and a Scottish Pipe Band, in Perthshire, Scotland. This event is held every March and is worth seeing on any tour of Scotland.

Scottish Blacksmiths Shop


An old view of the Blacksmiths Shop at Gretna Green, Scotland.

Best Scottish Tolbooth


The Canongate Tolbooth, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, was built in 1591, it was here that the tolls or public dues were collected. It also served as the council house, courtroom and prison for the Canongate. Although most of the prisoners were transferred to a newly built jail on Calton Hill. The large clock face is dated 1820 and replaced an earlier clock from the 17th Century.

Saturday 15 March 2008

Scottish Horsepower


" You said this car you sold me was 20 Horsepower, well, 19 of them are dead. "

Scottish Baldness


Scottish Baldness.

"I don't know what has happened, but since leaving the pub, I have gone bald."

Dunoon Esplanade Ancestry Tour of Scotland


Dunoon Esplanade Ancestry Tour of Scotland.

Tour Dunoon, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Golf Scotland.

Scottish Highland Dancing at Coupar Angus


Scottish Highland Dancing, today in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, Scotland.

Scottish Clydesdale Horse


A Scottish Clydesdale Horse at Coupar Angus Horse Fair, a celebration of the town's historic horse market, and horse shows that continued until the 1950s.

Scottish Jugglers


Scottish Jugglers at a spring gala in celebration today in Coupar Angus, Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Coupar Angus Tollbooth


Best Scottish Tours of Coupar Angus Tollbooth, Perthshire, Scotland. Coupar Angus Tolbooth Steeple was built in 1762 by public subscription and was the meeting place for the town committee and courthouse for the Justice of the Peace, with the lower portion of the steeple used as a jail. The building is six storeys high with a tall roof slated in a fish scale pattern. It houses the town clock and those who climb the steep spiral staircase are rewarded with fine views over Coupar Angus.

Friday 14 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Collace


Best Scottish Tours of Collace, Perthshire, Scotland. In the distance you can see Collace Parish Church, The church itself is two hundred years old but people have worshipped on this site, in the lee of old Dunsinane Hill for one thousand years. The church at Collace was consecrated a Christian place of worship on 4th June 1242. it was from this church that the then renowned Rev. Andrew Bonar walked out at the ‘Disruption’ of 1843 to form Collace Free Church. Collace Churchyard Photographs.

Thursday 13 March 2008

Scottish Baptist Episcopal Church


Interior of St John the Baptist Episcopal Church, Perth, Scotland. Situated near the centre of Perth in Scotland, St John’s is a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane.

Wednesday 12 March 2008

Scottish Chanter Seller


An old view of a Scottish Chanter Seller.

Scottish Hoots and Toots


Scottish Hoots and Toots.

Scottish Nip


A Scottish Nip.

Scottish Fluff


Scottish Fluff.

Scottish Moonlicht Nicht


It's a braw, bricht, moonlicht nicht, the nicht.

Scottish Whisky Fountain


Scottish Whisky Fountain.

Scottish Peat Carrier


A Scottish Peat Carrier in the old Highlands of Scotland.

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Kinnoull Churchyard


Best Scottish Tours of Kinnoull Churchyard, Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. There are some fine carvings on tombstones in Kinnoull Churchyard, Perth, Scotland. One was erected by Alexander Duff, Boatman, to his wife who died in 1772 and their three children Jean, Alexander and Peter who all died in infancy. It shows an elaborate carving of a Boatman in his boat with an angel blowing a horn. Kinnoull Churchyard Photographs.

Monday 10 March 2008

Best Scottish Tours of Castle Tioram


Best Scottish Tours of Castle Tioram. After nearly four hundred years as the stronghold of the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald, Castle Tioram was destroyed. Allan the Red is said to have ordered its destruction rather than have it fall into enemy hands.

Saturday 8 March 2008

Scottish Priories


Tour Scotland Abbeys and Priories. Melrose Abbey Scotland. The Cistercian abbey of Melrose is perhaps the most beautiful of all Scottish monasteries. This first account in 50 years, by Scotland’s foremost medieval architectural historian and a leading medieval historian, draws on archaeological, architectural, and documentary evidence to show the nature of the monastic visitors, how the abbey’s great estates were administered, and why the architecture of the abbey church is the most important illustration of late Gothic architecture in Scotland. Melrose Abbey.


Scottish Abbeys and Priories. The medieval abbeys and priories are among the most inspiring buildings ever built on Scottish soil. But, with a few exceptions, Iona and the Border abbeys of Melrose and Jedburgh are the most obvious, they are not nearly as widely known as they deserve. Richard Fawcett brings to life the rich and varied history and architecture of Scotland's monastic orders, explaining: The earliest monasteries, the twelfth-century rival under King David I, the layout of the monastic buildings, the impact of the Reformation, the visible remains of most monastic sites. Apart from describing, and illustrating, in detail such highlights as Dunfermline, St Andrews and Arbroath, the author covers the many other foundations for the monks, canons and friars of Scotland. The reader will also learn of orders, the Tironensians and the Valliscaulians, virtually unknown in England, and will discover that Iona's contribution to the christianization of Britain was more permanent than that of St Augustine in Kent. Scottish Abbeys and Priories: (Historic Scotland Series).

The Pattern of Our Days. Worship in the Celtic Tradition from the Iona Community. Each Wednesday on Iona, the Iona Community invites all those staying on the island, whether in the Abbey, the MacLeod Centre, or elsewhere, to join in a pilgrimage around Iona, visiting places of historical or religious significance and reflecting on our own journeys of faith. The Pattern of Our Days: Worship in the Celtic Tradition from the Iona Community.

Celtic Prayers from Iona. Based on the rhythms and images of Celtic oral tradition, these morning and evening prayers are a week's cycle of daily worship used by the ecumenical community of Iona, the most famous of Celtic shrines. Written in calligraphy. Celtic Prayers from Iona.

Friday 7 March 2008

Scottish Tinkers


Scottish Tinkers. In the early years of twentieth century tinkers were a familiar sight in the Highlands of Scotland. Tour Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland.

Best Scottish Tours of Luss


Best Scottish Tours of Luss, Loch lomond, Scotland. The village of Luss on the shores of Loch Lomond may consist of virtually only one street, but its setting and the careful way in which the buildings have been preserved, combine to make it an attraction of some note.


Luss Ancestry Tour of Scotland. The Luss Name in History is a customized book offering a unique blend of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary about the Luss name. The book is just one of an entire series of family name books in the Our Name in History collection. Each book in the collection is printed on demand and is compiled from hundreds of millions of records from the world's largest online resource of family history, Ancestry.com. This particular book follows the Luss family name through history and makes the perfect gift for your family members and anyone interested in the Luss name. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Luss last name originated. You may discover the countries and ports they left behind, the ships they sailed and more. You'll get a better idea of where people sharing the Luss name settled and where they may reside today in the United States, Canada, England and other countries. You'll get all this information and much more in your Luss family name book. The Luss Name in History.

Thursday 6 March 2008

Scottish Puffers


Scottish Puffers. For almost 125 years the Clyde and west Highlands were served by a fleet of small steam lighters, which were to be found in every port of the river, on the Forth and Clyde Canal and frequently beached on remote but sheltered parts of the Hebrides. The Clyde Puffers.

Scottish Cholera Epidimic


Scottish Cholera Epidimic. The Memorial in St Michael's Churchyard, Dumfries, Scotland. Dumfries had an Asiatic Colera epidimic. In total there were 837 cases in Dumfries and 421 deaths. Maxwelltown had 237 cases and 127 deaths. These were the official figures but a higher figure of nearly 700 deaths was calculated by counting the number of coffins made during the attack. Out of a population of twelve thousand, that was a high toll. Most who died are buried in a special plot in St Michael's graveyard, here gangs of gravediggers were busy for weeks piling coffins tier upon tier. The memorial says 420.

Ancestry Tour of Scotland.

Jean Armour Ancestry Tour Scotland


Jean Armour Ancestry Tour Scotland. Jean Armour was born in 1765, the daughter of a master mason of Mauchline. She first met Robert Burns at Mauchline in 1784, after his family settled at Mossgiel, near to the town. The actual date of their marriage is not known. They had nine children, only three of whom survived into adulthood. After Robert Burns death in 1796, Jean continued to live in the family home in Burns Street, Dumfries. The house became a place of pilgrimage for admirers of Robert Burns and she received many distinguished visitors. She remained there until her own death in 1834. The statue to Jean Armour is opposite St Michael's Churchyard, Dumfries, Scotland.