Tracing Your Scottish Roots with Julyn & Troy in Stirling, Scotland
Scottish heritage photoshootJulyn and Troy are fab! I mean, look at them! They’re so flipping adorable together and we had an ace day together on the trail of Julyn’s ancestors.
Heritage photoshoots are a rather new string to my bow. I love my adventure shoots and my couples portraits. I am also a big old fan of Scottish history (card carrying member of Historic Scotland here!) – let’s face it, we have a lot of history! – so heritage photoshoots combine all the things I think are great. Plus I meet such a brilliant mixture of couples with the heritage shoots. People come to Scotland from all over the world to look into their ancestry and I hear fascinating stories.
Discovering your Scottish roots and history
All roads lead to Scotland. Well, kinda! According to that bastion of all knowledge, Wikipedia, around 20-25 million Americans have some kind of Scottish heritage. That’s pretty cool!
Around the 1700s there was a huge Scottish exodus to Scotland, the Battle of Culloden caused clan structures to break up and there was lots of anti Catholic persecution. Nowadays there are loads of US based Scottish clan societies where Americans with Scottish ancestry can learn more and feel attached to their homeland.
Many Americans want to come over here and walk the same path as their distant relatives, and Julyn was no exception. She’s been looking into her ancestry and DNA for years and found out some very cool stuff – namely that she’s actually descended from Robert the Bruce! How mega is that!?
Couple’s portrait shoot in Stirling
We met up at Stirling Castle, which is incidentally one of my favourite Scottish castles. No mean feat when I’ve visited hundreds of them!
Robert the Bruce stands proudly outside the castle. In 1299 he laid siege to the castle and won it back from the English, so it was the obvious place to start our heritage photoshoot. I got them posing with him, before getting Julyn to mimic his pose which we all found hilarious. She did a fab job, gazing out in the direction of the Battle of Bannockburn! The determination in that look!
Stirling is a fab place for a shoot, it’s easy to get to (not too far from Glasgow or Edinburgh) and so nice to stroll around. We went to Stirling university and had a wander round the grounds which are stunning, especially in autumn. The trees were beautiful tones of reds, gold and orange, love it!
We finished off in the hills behind Stirling, where Julyn wrapped herself in tartan and snuggled up to Troy. They loved that I’d not just taken them on a photoshoot, I’d given them a wee tour too. We got to see some cool locations and find some Scottish hidden gems. There are lots of fab guided tours in Scotland but I love taking couples off the beaten track and exploring places they wouldn’t see on a more traditional tour.
Have you been looking into your DNA? Want to know more about your Scottish heritage and walk in the footsteps of your ancestors? Then get in touch and let’s get planning!
Sarah x
