Swanston Village and RLS

The village of Swanston grew up in the early eighteenth century around the farm and originally consisted of ten thatched cottages. The thatched cottages still remain.

Robert Louis Stevenson's parents, Thomas and Margaret (neé Balfour) leased Swanston Cottage for a dozen years or so, for the period of their only son's late 'teens and twenties (1867 until 1880).

For a long time I've planned to do a mini-series on RLS - I don't know whether I will manage consecutive days, but we'll see.

He enjoyed his summers when the family would move out from Edinburgh to the airy foothills of the Pentlands. His nurse, Alison Cunningham, still a great favourite of the family, lived in one of these cottages. More of her tomorrow I think....

In the meantime, here is the burn at Swanston (with another couple of cottage pictures in the folder in Blipfolio). Swanston Village