Better to light a candle than curse the darkness..
Watched a wonderful program yesterday called “The Lighthouse Stevensons”. It was about the family of civil engineers that built many of Scotland’s lighthouses during the 1800’s. I have always loved the sea, and have always had a fascination for lighthouses. Have been fortunate enough to visit many of them and even climb to the top of a few of them (most of them are closed to the public).Between 1807-1810 Robert Stevenson built the world’s oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse, 12 miles off the coast of Arbroath, in the middle of the North Sea! It has just celebrated it’s 200th anniversary and is still going strong!!!! Amazing!!! One of the many things on my “Bucket List” is to take the boat out from Arbroath and go and visit it. I did look into it a few years ago, but unfortunately the skipper needed 10 people to make it worth his while doing the long journey. I didn’t know 9 other people who were as enthusiastic about lighthouses as me….so unfortunately I didn’t get to go.
A few years ago I had a holiday on the magical island of Tiree and was lucky enough to be able to take the boat out to a similar lighthouse, 11 miles out into the Atlantic…called Skerryvore. The sea was quite rough to say the least…my old boxer doggie was used to boat trips out to remote places, but even he was looking pretty miserable on that boat!! Due to the high swell, nobody could stand up on that trip, and he went from person to person trying to wedge himself in between people’s feet to stop himself sliding across the floor! When we finally reached Skerryvore it was an amazing site. It is thought by many to be the world’s most graceful lighthouse, rising up out of the ocean to 156’. Our little boat couldn’t go too near as the swell was so rough and the jagged rocks seemed to be everywhere. Suprisingly….no bird life at all except for the silhouette of a few lone shags, standing on the rocks with their black wings outstretched in the wind. Quite a strange sensation really….. very awe inspiring but at the same time, quite eerie.
… Anyway… you’ve got me rambling on about two of my passions…. lighthouses and islands I could be here all night so I’ll shut up now!!
PS. There is no better feeling than being dropped off by a wee boat onto an uninhabited island, with only the promise of the skipper that he will come back in 3 hours and pick you up!!!!!
Comments (5)
Hi...yeah, well the thought did cross my mind at the time!! The particular island I was talking about then was the very last in the chain of the Outer Hebrides, so it is REALLY remote!!!
Wonderful photos of that lighthouse!! Nice to know that I am not the only lighthouse-loving nutter on here! I will have to look that one up on a map to see where it is. Always interested.