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5 places to visit on a timeless tour of Scotland

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Hazel Saunderson

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I’ve grown up in Scotland and yet there is still so much of the country that is unknown to me, so many places that are still on my ‘must visit’ list.

Stereocard depicting the Colonel's Bed, Glen Ey, Braemar, by George Washington Wilson & Co., Aberdeen, 1863. From the Howarth-Loomes Collection at National Museums Scotland.
Stereocard depicting the Colonel’s Bed, Glen Ey, Braemar, by George Washington Wilson & Co., Aberdeen, 1863. From the Howarth-Loomes Collection at National Museums Scotland.

As a child my parents ensured we regularly made it up many hills, mountains and a number of munros. After a little encouragement, we were all soon happy to be outside and anywhere that had a loch or a waterfall was always a favourite.

Now I love seeing friends’ photographs from weekends spent exploring and holidays hopping over Scottish islands. It always hits me how beautiful the natural landscape of the country we live in is and reminds me of these early family days spent in the outdoors.

Last year, when the Photography:  A Victorian Sensation exhibition was showing at the National Museum of Scotland, I flicked through many of the stereocard photographs  and there were a few stunning places that caught my eye.  In fact, I regularly take some virtual adventures north via Instagram and as I look again at these stereographs, it’s interesting how this early photography format resembles Instagram’s original square formatting.

1. The Island of Staffa

Stereocard depicting two men and a boat outside Clamshell Cave, Staffa, by George Washington Wilson & Co., Aberdeen Clamshell Cave, Staffa
Stereocard depicting two men and a boat outside Clamshell Cave, Staffa, by George Washington Wilson & Co., Aberdeen Clamshell Cave, Staffa

The jutting nature of these rocks are just incredible: they look like something from another world, or the place where lots of pieces of earth have collided in a mighty clash. This photograph from c.1860 -1870 shows two men and a boat outside Clamshell Cave on the east coast of the island of Staffa. This uninhabited volcanic island lies about six miles west of the Island of Mull and is home to hundreds of seabirds. I like how this photograph captures the people in landscapes photographs, as I think it gives a scene a sense of time and place.

2. Fingal’s Cave, Staffa

This one may be linked to the number one spot as it is on the same island, but this magical and musical cave is worthy of its own mention. These two stereocards show the exterior and interior of Fingal’s caves. It is the tiny figure depicted in the first photograph that I think gives a real sense of the sheer scale of the hexagonal basalt columns that surround and create this cave. These dramatic caves have inspired many artists and this wonderful concert overture by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 was inspired by Mendelssohn’s visit to Fingal’s Cave.
This famous Scottish glen, with dramatic mountains and waterfalls, has been formed by millions of years of geological processes. This photograph was taken c. 1860 – 1870 and I’d like to see if many of the details have changed in this beautiful mountain view.

 4. The Old man of Storr, Skye

The Storr is a rocky hill on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and this large pinnacle of a rock stands high in the surrounding landscape. One thing that struck me as I looked at all of these Scottish landscape photographs taken over 100 years ago is how timeless some of them are. Most of them are devoid of people, and the powerful rocks jutting into the landscape have a powerful sense of almost everlasting time.

5. The Clett, Thurso

Stereocard depicting The ‘Clett’, Holborn Head, Thurso by an unknown photographer, 1870s. From the Howarth-Loomes Collection at National Museums Scotland
Stereocard depicting The ‘Clett’, Holborn Head, Thurso by an unknown photographer, 1870s. From the Howarth-Loomes Collection at National Museums Scotland

This solitary sea stack on the northern shore of Scotland looks incredibly impressive in this moody stereocard from the 1870s. It’s stunning in its both natural and strange architectural footprint that it stamps firmly into the sea.

Photography: A Victorian Sensation finished last year, but there is an opportunity at the start of August 2016 to delve into the stereocards once more as Christine McLean, our Community Engagement Manager, leads a free online course. Find out more and sign up to Stereoscopy: an Introduction to Victorian Stereo Photography here. 

Online resources for our Victorian Photography collection can be found in our Explore section.

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12 comments

  1. Tina

    I have managed to get to all seven continents and have seen some fabulous things during a lifetime of travel. But since retiring back in the UK, I have fallen completely in love with Scotland. Every time I visit, I’m blown away by the superb scenery. Looking at these stereo images really brings memories of places I’ve visited back to life in a way that my own 2D photographs do not. The entrance to Fingals Cave and the Skye image are particularly impressive. Thank you.

    Reply

  2. Mark Skursky August 10, 2016

    I’m drawn to the Old Man of Storr. But, I see it more as an old man’s fingers pointing heavenward than of the full figure of an old man. It is a quite haunting location for the photograph. It is a marvel to see the various photographs as an end to a road adventure. Someone told someone, if you go to this spot on that coast or that point of land, you’ll see something marvelous.

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  3. William Murphy

    I have a daughter living in the highlands and I visit several times a year to see my grandchildren. I have travelled extensively in Scotland and enjoyed the landscape. That image of the HMS royal Albert is of special interest as I think that my great great grandfather served on it in the Crimea at the attack on Taganrog in the Sea of Azov.

    Reply

  4. Andreas Baros

    Let’s make it clear right from the start, the Catacombs of Paris is nothing but a mass grave putting together the remains of 6 million Parisians. Not very glamorous, i know! Yet, the place is really worth a visit as it offers a fantastic discovery of the history of Paris, construction and life careers, as well as some underground works. Through a guided tour, you will discover 2 km of underground tunnels littered with sculptures, skeletons of all kinds and point of memento mori! A fascinating tour that will enlighten you about the history of Paris

    Reply

    • Michael

      Had visited the Catacombs of Paris, Having done most of the other tourist locations this was one of the more esoteric and yet I agree a must visit site, Rightly or wrongly I was inspired to hum to myself some plain song which with the deep resonance of the passages made quite a moving experience, Hopefully no one else’s visit was spoiled by this intrusion.

      Most of the remains had been relocated from church yards across a wide geographic area that was planned to be the then new city of Paris.

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  5. Michael

    I keep chancing upon images of Fingal’s Cave that remind of a very recent August visit in which the conditions above us were very wet. This along with the slippery nature of the paths, the cross linking of arms necessary to pass others in areas of sheer drop then the wild 6 mile transit on a fast boat as the sea swells began to pick up on the return to Iona all combine to make for an unforgettable experience perhaps never to be repeated. My fellow traveller recovered after a cup of hot sweet tea and hopefully another traveller Derek who had brutally dashed his head falling on those rocks made it safely to hospital and has recovered from his wounds and concussion.

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  6. Ron Morton

    It is always interesting to see an older image of a familiar place. In my case it is the view of the Hermitage, a place I visit several times each year.
    The waterfall at the head of Glencoe was a favourite subject of my father with his trusty bellows – fronted 35mm Baldinette (which I still have). We would travel from Grangemouth to Glenelg for family holidays through the 60’s and often had to stop the Morris Oxford in Glencoe or Rannoch moor in order that Dad could take a photograph.

    Reply

  7. Jean Gumbrell

    The black and white stereographs seem to add to the drama of the landscape. I agree that Scotland has some wonderful scenery and many of the places shown are relatively unchanged since the 1860s when these photos were taken.

    Reply

  8. Peter Rowland

    My favorite is the one of Glencoe. This view can be seen today exactly the same.

    Reply

  9. Carmen

    The Clett, Thurso: I spend every summer, with my family, in orkney and Thurso is part of our now almost ritual journey. I love this stereo card, it reminds me of the Old man of Hoy,a similar geological formation.

    Reply

  10. William Weller

    I have visited a number of the places shown in the stereo photos and they are still as impressive as ever being little changed over the years.
    (Sorry Hazel but Instagram pictures mimic the stereo ones in format. Which came first.?)

    Reply

  11. S

    Thank you. I have participated in both online courses, the course from Christine from Coursera and the course from Hazel, from Futurelearn, and am using the links provided in the online course to find more material.

    Thank you from the United States.

    Reply

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