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You searched for: More Like: 'Precarious journeys'
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HUU432, a Bedford OB
864 This image shows HUU432, a Bedford OB coach parked outside Seafield Garage in Cullen. Notice the extensive array of petrol pumps in the background, with such examples as "National Benzone" and "Power".
The vehicle was owned and operated by Donald Grant. Of solid construction, it no doubt covered many hundreds of miles in its journeys through the North-East.
Seafield Garage was owned by John Lawrence, who was another bus operator in the town.
(Many thanks to Dr Mike Mitchell and Peter Findlay for additional information about this image.) Harbour crane
3527 A photograph showing a quayside steam crane alongside a docked vessel. The crane has tipped over while lifting machinery and is in a precarious situation. Lord Cockburn on Mrs Elmslie's Institute
272 In response to our focus on Simpson's plans for Mrs Elmslie's Institute as one of the Treasures from our Collection, a member of the public kindly allowed us to scan this passage from their copy of Lord Cockburn's Circuit Journeys, which describes a visit to the institute. This second edition volume was published in Edinburgh by David Douglas in 1889. Treasure 88: Polar Exploration
300 One of this month's treasures is a selection of our books about polar exploration. These mainly 19th century volumes were often written by those placed in command of a particular expedition, providing first-hand accounts of voyages through glacial seas and journeys to the frozen ends of the earth.
The many attempts to reach the North Pole are well documented in works such as Dr Fridtjof Nansen's Farthest North, 1898 and The Great Frozen Sea, 1894 by Rear-Admiral Albert Hastings Markham.
Similarly at the other end of the world the race was on to conquer the South Pole. Many countries mounted expeditions to the Antarctic in the early 1900's. One such undertaking has been chronicled in Ernest Shackleton's The Heart of the Antarctic, 1909 which is the story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909. The first successful attempt to reach the South Pole was made by Roald Amundsen who arrived there on 14 December 1911. It was a tight competition as the British Party with Captain Robert Falcon Scott as their leader arrived at the same spot only five weeks later.
Discover fascinating facts about the North and South Poles and the explorers who attempted to journey to the ends of the earth in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition. Treasure 121: Annals of the Road by Captain Malet (1876)
344 One of our final treasures is a very rare book dating from 1876 which tells us about the history of the stage and mail coaches in Britain. A subject that perhaps, on first glance, would appear to be rather dry and uninteresting, becomes significantly more dramatic when you consider the limitations and risks inherent in a journey by coach in the days before rail, car and plane. Indeed, with many of us venturing out on a journey for the summer holidays, a lot of us will take for granted the ease and speed with which we may reach our destinations. Journeys such as these would have been nigh on impossible in the days of the stage coach in terms of time and expense.
Our book is entitled Annals of the Road, or Notes on Mail and Stage Coaching in Great Britain. By Captain Malet, XVIIIth Hussars, to which are added Essays on the Road by Nimrod, published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London 1876. According to Capt. Malet, stage coaching came into general use between 1662 and 1703. However, travel on horseback was still considered preferable by many due to the discomfort of the early coaches, the bad state of the main roads (which were few) and the constant danger of highway robbery. Coaches were an easy, slow-moving target for highwaymen as they carried more baggage and the passengers would be unable to ride away at speed. Mail coaches began in the 1780s from Edinburgh and by 1835, 27 coaches were running to various places from Aberdeen.
To see some beautiful illustrations of coaches and coach travel - and find out just how expensive it was (very!) - have a look at the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition.
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