Scotland in Pictures

North Berwick

2007-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

North Berwick is an attractive seaside town on the east coast of Scotland, it is situated on the south side of the Forth where it meets the North sea.
The town is built round its once busy harbour, it has two lovely sandy beaches that have lured the tourists for years.
Just off shore lies the Bass rock, a natural sea bird sanctuary, and next to the harbour is the Scottish seabird centre.
Tantallon Castle is just a short drive south of the town and is worth a visit for the spectacular views.

Bass rock from Tantallon Castle

Bass Rock

Tantallon Castle

North Berwick Harbour

Old Stone Building at sea life centre

Sea gull looking for chips

Celtic cross North Berwick

Small boat in the harbour

North Berwick is a must visit town, the fish & chips are something else

Kintyre Peninsula (The Mailand Island)

2007-07-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

Scotland

Kintyre west coast of Scotland

The Kintyre peninsula is well worth a visit, the scenery is breathtaking, if you have the time you should stay on the B roads they are very narrow with passing places, but the views are well worth the effort

A traffic jam near Skipness Castle, the farmer and his dog worked together with precision.

Tarbert Hotel on left of picture

Old bridge over a highland burn Nr the Rest and be Thankful

Tarbert harbour Loch Fyne

Clouds over Aran view from Nr Skipness

Skipness Castle

Fishery workshop Tarbert

Springbank House home of hector Mc Alister

Looks over Brodick bay Tarbert

Skipness Chapel

Narrow bridge at Inveraray

Highland cattle at Inveraray Castle

Tarbert town is a lively little place, there is always something on, this picture was taken during the Tarbert fair.

Tarbert also hosts a folk music festival, http://www.tarbertmusicfestival.com/ and a sea food festival, http://www.seafood-festival.com/

The Tarbert hotel comes recommended as a family friendly place to stay.

2007-06-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

David Boyd with trainer Archie Leary

David Boyd with winners trophy

David Boyd is a big hit for Livi

David 15 from Craigswood Livingston punched his way into a technical knockout at Lieth dockers club in Edinburgh on Sunday 3rd June.

The referee gave Robert Cunningham a count of eight when David struck him with a heavy blow to the chin seconds into round two.

As Robert from Bonnyrigg was recovering from the shock of the first hit David bombarded him with a volley of left and right hooks, the referee decided to stop the fight on the grounds safety as Robert was unable to defend him self.

David with two winners trophy's under his belt said "he is now focusing on his next fight in a few weeks time".

Archie Leary added " David is the best fighter in group, I am going to ad some weight training into his exercise regime but going by the way he fought on Sunday one wonders if he needs it.

Pictures by Martin Sweeny

Tiree ( memories of the past )

2007-05-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

Compair this picture to the black and white one below to se how many aditional rooms have been aded to the Scarnish Hotel (The Lean To)

Scotland in Pictures
Tiree ( past & present )
Scarnish Harbour 2007
top pictures showing the Mary Stewart in her final place, the bottom pictures taken when the Mary Stewart was in her prime.

Mary Stewart 2007 M. Sweeny
Top pictures show what is left of the Mary Stewart after around 87 years of being battered by wind and waves.

Courtesy of Mr Angus Munn
This photograph taken in the 1920s or 1930s shows the 'Mary Stewart' in Scarinish harbour with the Temperance Hotel on the right and MacArthurs' general store on the left. Built by Barclay in Ardrossan in 1868, the sixty-four foot long 'Mary Stewart' was rigged as double-topsail schooner and had a tonnage of sixty-five.Originally trading on the Irish coast, she was bought in 1908 for Donald MacLean of Scarinish by his relation, Dugald MacKinnon. Dugald was known as Dùghall an Òir (Dugald of the gold) because he had had been successful in the Australian Gold Rush.Donald MacLean, with his sons as crew, traded up and down the West Coast of Scotland carrying coal and other cargo until the late 1930s when steam superseded sail. The remains of the 'Mary Stewart' can still be seen in Scarinish harbour.

Courtesy of Mrs Netta Martin
Taken in the early 1930s, this view of Scarinish harbour shows the topsail schooner 'Mary Stewart' in her final resting place. For the previous thirty years she had traded up and down the west coast carrying coal and other cargo.Also anchored in the harbour are two lobster boats. Commercial lobster fishing began on Tiree after 1880 when the railway to Oban was opened, allowing shellfish to be sent live to the London markets for the first time.Said to have been originally built as a church, the building in the background was used as a store by the owners of the 'Mary Stewart'. It was pulled down to make the road to the pier during World War II.

Tiree April 2007

2007-05-06T02:52:00.000-07:00

The land below the waves

Arriving at Oban the first thing you see, the Clansman ferry destination Tiree
This mighty vessel my escape from the rat race, cuts through black waters at a leisurely pace
Nothing behind us but a trail of white foam, and memories of loved ones we left at home
Oban gets smaller as it fades from our sight, in the wind and the cloud and the rain
On the port side majestic and proud, stands the family home of McLean

Castle Duart rises up from the shore, a fortress from days long ago
As if to guard the sound of mull, distinguishing friend from foe
Flanked by a lighthouse on the opposite shore, painted in brilliant white
Linsmore shines over the sound, guiding the ships throughout the night

Passed Tobermory we are clear of the sound and sailing on the high sea
A stop at Coll and we are on our way to the beautiful isle of Tiree
The captain announces arrival at Coll as passengers disembark
With new arrivals two by two, reminisant of Noah’s ark

The car deck closed and the mooring ropes in, the Clansman’s is out once more
The next thing we see is a house painted pink that guides us into the shore
We land at Scarnish the sun splits the skies, and the sea turns to azure blue
Full of excitement we get of the boat, and head strait for the Lean To

With a warm welcome and an open fire we drank a few golden nips
We looked out the window across at the bay and gazed at all the old the ships
This beautiful island like a picture post card never fails to amaze
This is the island of Tiree
The land below the waves

Martin Sweeny Livingston, West Lothian, United Kingdom - 27 April 2004

The Lord of the Isles Tiree harbour

The Island of Mull

Lismore Lighthouse Sound of Mull

Oban from the Lord of the Isles

Fishing boat Tiree

Scarnish Hotel Tiree

Thatched Cotages Tiree

Sunset Scarnish Harbour Tiree

Mary Stewart Scarnish Tiree

Scotland in Pictures

Tiree

The bottom picture shows the wreck of the Mary Stewart in Scarnish harbour, she has company now with the other vessel at the back of the picture being left to suffer the same fate.

2007-04-10T03:44:00.000-07:00

Scotland in Pictures

Linlithgow loch Easter 2007

While all of Scotland tucked into their Easter eggs I was out and about taking pictures.

On Eater Sunday I noticed the vapour trails of two aircraft had made what looked like a saltire in the sky above Linlithgow Palace, on Easter Monday I got up a bit earlier and captured this amazing sunrise, the swans where getting in the mood for summer, I liked the way this pair made a love heart shape.

Saltire in the sky

Linlithgow Sunrise

Linlithgow loch

Kissing Swans

Linlithgow is to be host to a new star trek exhibition, the Idea first announced by Gerry Sweeny last year is now to become a reality thanks to the help of councilor Willie Dunn.

I wonder what Scottie will make of these stunning views, I hope its still as nice when he pops into the world.

2007-01-20T13:33:00.000-08:00

South Queensferry
Harbour reflections, and the rail bridge dominating the skyline.

St Andrews
The famous old coarse bridge at St Andrews

Edinburgh
Rock steady, Edinburgh castle stands on a foundation of solid rock formed by a now dormant volcano

Plockton
Red phone box in plockton harbour stands out in this black and white image.

Scotland in Pictures by Martin Sweeny

2007-01-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

Linlithgow Palace
A solitary duck creates a ripple on the cold still water of Linlithgow loch.

River Forth

The moon lights up the sky over the Forth rail bridge casting a beam of white light over the dark water.

Forth rail bridge
Snow blankets the banks of the Forth estury, this is a very unusual sight as snow rarely lies so close to the salty water.

Scotland in Pictures by Martin Sweeny

2007-01-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

Falkirk wheel at night
By Martin Sweeny
For the girls at Gerry's work, here are a few more images of the Falkirk wheel at night, there are a lot more but I don't want to bore you all with the same stuff hope you like them

2007-01-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures
Low light photography

This section is dedicated to low light and night photography.
As you will see the Forth bridges are one of my favorite subjects, I am amazed at the different moods that can be achieved controlling aperture and shutter speeds, I could keep going back to the same spot and never get the same result,the ever changing Scottish weather makes sure of that.

Falkirk Wheel at night

Moon light over rail bridge

Rail bridge reflections

Drive time, heading home at night

View from under the road bridge
at night, the rail bridge on the right

2006-11-14T04:48:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures
Loch Ness

Image: Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness

Loch Ness and the legend of 'Nessie', the famous Loch Ness monster has inspired the imagination of young and old for generations & makes Loch Ness one of the top travel destinations for visitors to Scotland.

2006-11-14T04:15:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures

Rest & be Thankful

The top image is of the famous telephone box at the top of the Rest & be Thankful, I drove 180 miles to find this box thinking it was the old red type, unfortunately BT have swapped it for the new type.

Bottom image:

This stunning view pictured from the top of Rest & be Thankful shows how rugged the Scottish landscape is, just visible at the bottom of the valley is a croft, this shows the scale of things the mighty mountains just swallow it up.

2006-11-08T08:33:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures
Linlithgow Palace

This image zooms in on Linlthgow Palace from the far side of the loch, the palace was the birth place and home of Mary Queen of Scots, Mary was beheaded by her sister during the protestant revolution.

Over the years the palace has been ruined by fire, now only the outer walls remain, to the left of the photo is St Micheal's church.

2006-11-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures

The Scots monument

This picture shows the Scots monument at night, the Ferris wheel in front is part of the hogmany celebrations, Edinburgh is host to one of the biggest new year parties in the world.

2006-11-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures
Edinburgh's disgrace

Calton hill is the home of Ediburghs disgrace, the town did not have enough money to complete the project, to this day this piece of roman style architecture dominates the landscape reminding us of hard financial days gone by.

2006-11-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures

Images of Scotland by Martin Sweeny

This image was taken during a re-construction battle, this is the Scots rushing to defend the castle from cromwell's in invading army, to ad a bit of intrest I made the photo black and white but left the saltire colour.

2006-11-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

Scotland in pictures

Images of Scotland by Martin sweeny

A fantastic piece of engineering, the Falkirk wheel is one of Scotlands newest tourist destinations.

It connects the Clyde and union canals lifting vessels up to the higher level without them leaving the water.

This picture was taken from the visitor centre June 05.

2006-11-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures
images of Scotland by Martin sweeny

This image of the Forth rail bridge was taken on a cold winter night, the long exposure gives the water a misty look.

2006-11-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Scotland in pictures

Images of Scotland by Martin Sweeny

This image of Ileene donnan castle was taken on a very wet and windy day, Ileene Donnan is the most photographed castle in Scotland and has been used as the back drop for many Scottish movies.

2006-11-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Scotland in Pictures
Images of Scotland by Martin sweeny

This black and white image shows the Forth rail bridge on a calm winter day, in the foreground is a life boat engines running ready to go.

There is a lot of maintenance work being carried out on the bridge the scaffolding can be clearly seen giving the bridge an industrial feel.