The National Collection of Aerial Photography

Aerial photography provides unique and striking perspectives on how the people of Scotland have lived, worked, fought over, worshipped, developed and changed this land, leaving no part untouched or unaltered by human activity.

RCAHMS holds the national collection of aerial photography for Scotland with millions of images dating from the 1920s to the present day. These photographs tell the remarkable story of a changing nation, from stone circles, Roman remains and ruined castles, to the growth of villages, towns and cities, the rise and fall of heavy industry, the country at war and the proud engineering and architecture of the modern landscape.

View a selection of images from this collection in the Above Scotland gallery. The images in this gallery come from Above Scotland: The National Collection of Aerial Photography. Published by RCAHMS on 8 October 2009, this 224-page, lavishly illustrated book contains 230 of the finest photographs from the National Collection, with authors David Cowley and James Crawford telling the history of Scotland from a unique and fascinating perspective.