It was going to be difficult to beat the success of Saturday’s Hestan Island visit Saturday’s Hestan Island visit, but we had a very good go yesterday anyway.

After a two-hour drive over to the Rhins of Galloway we met up with John, Steve and Lianne at Port Logan. The little harbour lighthouse at Port Logan had alluded me on previous visits to the area. Somehow I’d not known about it and, with it being so easy to get to it seemed rather odd that I’d still not made it there.

It’s a lovely little tower, dating back to 1818, although obviously no longer in use. The original report proposing the introduction of a lighthouse as part of a new harbour here was drawn up by John Rennie. It’s possible to access both the ground and first floors as well as the attached little out-house type room which looks like it contained a bath! From the first floor you can look up and see the inside of the old lantern area. Originally the lantern would have been accessed by ladder from the first floor. It was nice to wander around and the kids enjoyed going in and out too, sheltering from the wind that had picked up overnight.

Bob had taken along his drone and this was his first opportunity to experiment with using it around lighthouses. Of course they are an excellent feature for drone images.

Leaving my parents and the kids to play on the beach the rest of us set off for an attempt to visit Crammag Head lighthouse. Steve and Lianne had visited last year, although found it was not the most pleasant of experiences as it involved crossing a field of cows. I think we were all expecting the same again yesterday, but we thought we had to try it as it was one that John and I had both been keen to get a closer view of – having previously settled for a view from the road.

After a brief chat with the people staying at the holiday accommodation at the nearby farm we set off towards the gate and were very pleased to discover two empty fields with no cows to contend with. Aside from a muddy section the walk was easy and it was such a fantastic feeling to see the top of the tower emerge over the hill. I am particularly fond of this type of lighthouse and it was wonderful to see a new one of these close up. John clearly shared my joy by giving the lighthouse a hug alongside me. It’s almost as if the weather knew what a happy moment it was as it sent in blue sky shortly after we‘d arrived.

While there we saw the base of the old lighthouse, which made a perfect take-off and landing pad for Bob’s drone. We took a stroll down to the old landing area for the lighthouse, which we assumed must have – at some point – featured a derrick for bringing materials etc. in as it was nowhere near sea level.

I’d always associated this lighthouse with cows, but the visit yesterday changed my mind entirely. It’s a relatively new tower, although a lighthouse has stood here since 1913, having been replaced in December 2009.

We stopped back in Port Logan briefly to pick up the others we set off for the Mull of Galloway for lunch. My plans for a nice picnic were perhaps a little unrealistic as the wind was a bit “fresh”. It was 8 years ago I last visited the Mull of Galloway lighthouse and that was on my original tour. I managed a tour of the tower that time. Due to the pandemic, the lighthouse is closed this season, but that didn’t seem to have put people off. It was the opposite end of the scale to Crammag Head where we were alone.

While walking around the lighthouse complex I mentioned to John that Mull of Galloway wasn’t one of my favourite lighthouses and he asked if it was because you could “just drive up to it and wander around” – clearly he’d paid attention while reading yesterday’s blog post! I suppose I’ve spent a lot of time visiting more remote lighthouses and I have grown to love not seeing lots of people at these places. It somehow makes the visit feel more personal and special when you are the only ones around.

On my previous visit I’d not paid much attention to the foghorn, apart from seeing it from the top of the lighthouse. I received a message from Bob to say that our son wanted to go down to the foghorn so we set off to join them. There are a fair amount of steps down to it, but it’s worth it for the views. Foghorns are really starting to grow on me and one day it would be great to go back there to hear it being sounded.

All in all it was a great day with Crammag Head being the real highlight. I’ve missed the lighthouses in recent months and it’s great to be getting back to them again. 🙂