August 2020 – uklighthousetour

Day trips to Strathy and Stoer

16/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Highlands, lighthouse, lighthouses, Northern Lighthouse Board, Scotland, Stoer Head, Strathy PointLeave a comment

During our recent trip I’d got back into the habit of visiting lighthouses and, as they say, old habits die hard. With it being the first weekend back after the holiday it seemed like a good time to make the most of the sunshine and see some lighthouses at the same time.

Yesterday we visited a friend at Strathy Point lighthouse for the first time in a few months. With it being so close to home, we’d been thinking of dropping by for a while, but wanted to hold off as we knew there would be hoards of people (relatively) descending on the Point once lockdown restrictions were eased.

Joe the Drone had to come along too, of course, and with permission from our friend he got some great shots of the lighthouse.

I never get bored of Strathy Point, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed paddling in the small loch close to the lighthouse. Anyone who has been before will know that there is a model lighthouse in the loch. Apparently they were made by the lighthouse keepers and, when the light was automated one of the engineers took one of the models with them. At one point one of the residents put a solar powered light on top of the remaining tower, but that obviously didn’t last.

The loch and model lighthouse at Strathy Point

Today looked like it would be cloudy at home, but sunny and warm on the west coast. So it seemed sensible to go somewhere where the weather was good for the day. One of the benefits of living on the north coast, although it was a three hour drive each way. We chose Stoer as I’d not been there since my original tour in 2012, Bob hasn’t been for a while and there was a nice beach nearby for the kids to enjoy.

As we headed west the skies started to clear, the sun came out and so did the cars. As we got closer to the turn off for Achmelvich beach the traffic really picked up. Clearly many people were aware of the incredible beaches the area had to offer, as well as the beautiful mountain views.

We made it over to Stoer and parked up. After a picnic on the hill close to the lighthouse Bob went off with Joe the Drone – who managed to unearth a lone bonxie from nowhere as soon as it took off. After lunch we wandered up to the lighthouse and I handed over parenting duties to Bob while I wandered around the lighthouse.

It’s such a beautiful location and the coastline here is fascinating. It’s hard to appreciate from the land really, although starting the walk along to the Old Man of Stoer as I did on my last visit gives an extra wonderful angle. Last year on our west coast boat trip I was fascinated to see Stoer Head lighthouse from the sea and to get a better idea of the lie of the land around it.

This was where Joe the Drone really came into his own as the aerial shots really showed the shape of the land to its full effect. That is what I’m finding I enjoy most about the drone pictures, is being able to see the shape of the land around these lighthouses. Just the little ins and outs and grass slopes leading down to the cliffs, looking like a green blanket has been laid over the top of the land. It’s wonderful to see – and I’m sure Bob will be very grateful to read that I appreciate his new toy!

The lighthouse buildings have now been converted into holiday accommodation with an upstairs and a downstairs flat. It’s not the cheapest of place to stay, but the 360 degree views make it worth it, including (as they did today) over to the hills in Assynt, then Skye and even small sections of the Western Isles too. There was even a sheep nearby watching out over the sea.

The sheep enjoying the view at Stoer Head

The light in the tower has now been replaced with one of the LED “puddings”, so the lamp room looks fairly empty. It’s still such a beautiful complex throughout though and the buildings are looking really well maintained.

Waving goodbye to the lighthouse, we then stopped off at Stoer Bay, just around the corner from the busy Clachtoll beach, which the kids absolutely loved – to the point where our little girl thanked Bob for “making this beach”!

A couple of great days out. 🙂

Taking a closer look at Loch Ryan and Killantringan

07/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Cairnryan, Galloway, Killantringan, lighthouse, lighthouses, Loch Ryan, Scotland1 Comment

It’s the final day of the holiday before the journey home and I couldn’t let it pass without a lighthouse or two. Loch Ryan and Killantringan lighthouses featured in my original tour, but I’d not been back since. I’d learnt that it was possible to get better views of them than I’d previously had and now with Joe the Drone (yes, he has a name and I thought I’d use it as I think he may receive regular mentions in the future) as part of the tools available to us it seemed like a good time to pay them a revisit.

In my previously cautious way (and I am still cautious sometimes) I’d contented myself with the view of Loch Ryan lighthouse from the road. The signs saying “Danger” and “Keep out” were enough to put me off attempting anything more. The lighthouse is at the back of what appears to be an abandoned area of wasteland. Parking at the car park we went down onto the beach and quickly came to the burn (or stream) that crossed the beach, heading down into the sea. It was deeper than it looked in places, but we managed to navigate our way across and I was glad of the extra platform I have on my walking boots, and their waterproof features too!

From here it was a short walk along the shoreline to the lighthouse. Although it’s quite a substantial tower there are no associated cottages next to it or within the compound. It is clear that its purpose is limited to navigating ships safely into and out of Loch Ryan by its basic layout and lack of the little decorative details that you find on many other Scottish lights – particularly those designed by Alan Stevenson as this one was.

It was a nice stroll along the shore though and Joe the Drone managed to capture some great images too. As we left I noticed a sign warning that large waves often occurred on the beach there up to 30 minutes after a ferry had passed. Luckily we didn’t need to worry about that!

The revisit to Killantringan was partially inspired by the fact that Bob hadn’t been there before and also that my lighthouse accomplice John had sent a picture of it taken from an entirely different angle than I’d seen it from before, one from which you could see the old foghorn which I hadn’t realised was there before. When I’d been there previously it was a matter of driving up, parking, walking up to the lighthouse, taking some pictures and then going back to the car. There is no way to get around the outside of the wall so there seemed nowhere else to go.

As we approached the lighthouse a thick sea mist had appeared and it was looking unlikely that Joe the Drone would get a spin at this one. I quickly took a few pictures and we retreated to the car park to assess the situation. Thankfully the mist cleared and we set off with Joe flying above our heads. While Bob was working with Joe I set off along the coastal path, part of the Southern Upland Way, to get the panoramic view of the lighthouse, foghorn and the fantastic cliffs surrounding them.

Killantringan lighthouse with the foghorn coming into view

A benefit of visiting at low tide as we did was that the remains of the bow of MV Craigantlet could be seen. The cargo ship was en route from Belfast to Liverpool when it was wrecked in February 1982 and thankfully the crew were saved after the keeper at Killantringan lighthouse raised the alarm.

Killantringan foghorn and lighthouse with the bow of the MV Craigantlet visible

Funnily enough, as the foghorn really started to come into view I heard the deep boom of a ship’s foghorn out to sea, an indication that it was still foggy out there at sea. It seemed like perfect timing and I enjoyed the views for a little longer before heading back to the car, not quite in time to miss the rain though! Joe had also done well and captured some nice shots, particularly closer in on the foghorn.

Killantringan lighthouse and foghorn from the sky

It was great to get back to these two and really explore their surrounding areas a bit more. It’s so easy to not make the most of these places when you are on a time limit with plenty more still to go on your list. It was good to be able to spend more time there without these constraints.

These lighthouses are the final two of this holiday. It’s been a long wait for them, but completely worth it. I’ve spent time with treasured family and friends, laughed a lot, got plenty of fresh air and exercise, and been to places I will never forget. 🙂

A Bute-iful day!

06/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Argyll, Bute, Isle of Bute, lighthouse, lighthouses, Ravenrock Point, Scotland, Toward, Toward PointLeave a comment

It’s not often I use a pun in the titles of these posts, but it was too good an opportunity to miss today. It really has been a beautiful day and a good portion of our lighthouse antics took place on the Isle of Bute.

I have been aware of Rubh’an Eun lighthouse on the southern point of Bute for a long time and knew it involved a walk. It wasn’t one I was desperate to get to, but with it being a “proper” little lighthouse of a style I am rather partial to it did hold a fair amount of appeal. I’d heard from my friend John that the path to the lighthouse was a little narrow in places, that he’d seen a cow pat and then almost fallen into a gully. It all sounded a little dramatic and so Bob and I decided to invite him along for round two in the hope that it would make for a more enjoyable and less frightening day!

We had an early start this morning to make sure we could get across to Bute before the ferries got busy. The sun was shining and the sea was so calm that we all wished we were going out on a smaller boat hopping from one island to another. The journey to Kilchattan Bay, the starting point for the walk, was picturesque and when we arrived we began to realise that this wasn’t another one of our remote walks during which we would see no one else.

One of many views from the walk, with Little Cumbrae in the distance

Maybe it was the weather, but the walk was stunning and it was great to take in the surrounding views especially over towards Little Cumbrae. The walk makes up part of the West Island Way and is really varied with easy grassy sections, parts where you need to navigate around or over rocks, some slightly overgrown foliage and muddy stretches especially after the recent period of heavy rain.

One of the interesting natural features on the walk

For most of the walk John had been up front, but as we rounded a corner he hung back and let me go first in order to let me see the lighthouse without others in the way. That first view you get of the lighthouse is beautiful – or it certainly was today anyway. The tower must have undergone a fairly recent makeover as it was nicely painted with the only remnants of its previous rust colour appearing near the very bottom of the tower. John said it was a vast improvement on his first visit when it looked in a poor state and the door was open.

There were two people near the lighthouse as we approached, but thankfully they wandered off as we approached leaving us with plenty of time to explore before we were disturbed again. It really is a wonderful landscape and one which can only really be described to a certain degree by pictures so here are a few angles – including one from Bob’s drone which buzzed around while we explored.

I won’t be forgetting this visit in a hurry and I’d be more than happy to go back again in future. It well and truly gets my seal of approval and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good walk on a nice path with a hint of being in the middle of nowhere, but not too remote.

One of Bob’s aerial images of Rubh’an Eun lighthouse

Leaving behind this impressive island we made for Ravenrock Point for the second day in a row. We wanted John to see the structure here and give his opinion on whether it was worthy of lighthouse status. I was pleased to have gone back as yesterday I’d been so focussed on the lighthouse that I’d not noticed the nice little cove and beach area just to the north of it. I’ve included a picture of the cove here, but one of the lighthouse can be found in yesterday’s post.

Having seen Toward lighthouse from various angles and numerous times over the past week it was time to finally pay it a visit. Bob hadn’t been to this one before which was even more reason to go. I really like this tower and I enjoyed seeing it the first time on my 2012 lighthouse tour. It was very interesting to be back there today, eight years later, with the extra knowledge and experience I have gained. I am still fond of it and imagine it is a great little place to live.

I paid more attention to the foghorn and its church-like building today than I ever had before. There’s not much to the actual horn itself so the building seems quite oversized – unless, of course, it was used for something else. As we wandered around on the rocks Bob spotted the old jetty that would have been used for servicing the lighthouse.

Heading north from Toward we had some time to kill before the fish and chip shop in Dunoon opened so we stopped in a small lay-by off of the main road to see the Perch beacon, which we had spotted from the boat last weekend. Bob had intended to send the drone out to get some closer images of the beacon, but the local oystercatchers kicked up a fuss and so that effort was abandoned. A little further up the road we glanced at the beacon on The Gantocks.

A poor quality image of Perch beacon was the best I could get

Arriving back just in time for fish and chips from Anselmo’s – which quite deservedly has great reviews – we made our way to the seafront and ended the day enjoying our dinner from a bench with views across the water to Cloch lighthouse. It’s days like this that you feel very lucky to be able to experience these places and to do so alongside family and friends makes it extra special. 🙂

The little lights of Argyll

05/08/202005/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Argyll, Caladh Beacon, Cloch Point, lighthouse, lighthouses, Port Glasgow, Ravenrock Point, Scottish lighthouses, Sgeir an EirionnaichLeave a comment

Today has been spent exploring some lighthouses in Argyll. With lighthouses being on the coast I’m not so used to being surrounded by trees on my lighthouse adventures, but in Argyll it’s a completely different ball game – the trees are everywhere.

It’s because of these trees that back in 2012 when I did my original lighthouse tour I missed out on seeing Caladh Beacon, just to the north of Tighnabruaich. I remember scouring the coastline there and just not being able to see it. As a result it had remained unvisited, by me at least, ever since. Today was the day I was finally going to see it and so I set off this morning with Bob for the ferry from Gourock to Hunter’s Quay. On the way we passed Cloch lighthouse, which I quickly grabbed a few pictures of as we drove past.

Once on the other side it was a matter of driving tree lined roads until we reached Tighnabruaich, which actually looks quite a big place with some rather expensive-looking houses. We found a space to park and began our walk to the lighthouse. It follows a clearly marked track (or road really) which follows the coast around the Kyles of Bute.

The path went up and down a little with the occasional waterfall running to the side of and underneath the path. Occasionally it was possible to spot the lighthouse between the trees, but very rarely. It was only once you are almost at the little point on which the lighthouse sits that it really comes into view.

As we approached we noticed a gate with “private” on it and it was clear that it wouldn’t be possible to go that way. We could see a car behind the gate and so suspected someone must be about – the perils of visiting at peak holiday time. I sent a quick message to my ever-trustworthy pal John to ask what he did when he visited previously and he said he’d skirted around the rocks to avoid the garden. Bob decided to send his drone up to check out the lie of the land and it showed that there was at least another car there and a house just behind the tower. While the drone was up he got some great shots.

Just after he’d taken the drone down a couple of locals appeared with their dogs. Bob asked them about access to the lighthouse and they said that it was private. They also said that a man who works for the owners of the house was working up on the road and to ask him if he could sort something out. We never saw the man they referred to and I left feeling a little disappointed. Bob reminded me that I’d got as close to that one as I had to Dubh Artach (although Caladh Beacon was a shorter tower so it looked further away). We decided we’ll see if we can sort out quick access by boat at some point.

Back from the walk we set off in the direction of Loch Fyne to see what kind of view it was possible to get of Sgeir an Eirionnaich. Finding the car park I had mentioned in my book was easy enough and the shoreline here certainly offered a better view of it than I’d had before. It was still fairly distant though and this is another that needs a chartered boat trip to get a better view.

Sgeir an Eirionnaich, cropped image from the drone

After our viewing of Ravenrock Point from the boat on Saturday, a bit of closer inspection was required, especially as it is so close to the road. Just to the south of Ardentinny we spotted it within the trees and found a lay-by a very short distance away. The structure looked very much as I had expected with the column with lights and radar on top and then a small hut on the landward side which was connected to the light structure only by a series of cables.

This sparked a bit of a debate, which I’d already been having in my head anyway, about whether or not it met my lighthouse criteria. I’ll have to think about this one, but it was a nice little tower to visit anyway. It was possible to get down onto the rocks in front of it too with a much clearer path down there than we had experienced at Cnap Point at the weekend!

The ferry back from Hunter’s Quay was certainly busy, probably due to the A83 being closed due to a land slip after all this rain, but we managed to get on and off with enough time to cram in a couple more little lighthouses. Port Glasgow beckoned. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, but they are always a joy to see with their checkered towers. My nearly three-year-old calls them the ‘oyster catcher lighthouses’ due to their colour!

The rain had well and truly set in by this point, but it didn’t matter as there were lighthouses to be seen. 🙂

Revisiting the Lady and the not so Little Cumbrae

03/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Lady Isle, lighthouse, lighthouses, Little Cumbrae, Northern Lighthouse Board, ScotlandLeave a comment

Whilst it’s true that I do spend a lot of my lighthouse time trying to get to those I’ve not seen before it is always nice to be able to say “yes!” to an opportunity for a revisit, especially if it is revisiting two places that I enjoyed so much the first time around: Lady Isle and Little Cumbrae.

My lighthouse accomplice, John, had been very keen to get to Lady Isle to see its wonderfully unique lighthouse for a long time and had organised a trip in May, which of course had to be postponed. He’d spoken to the boatman at the weekend who had said that Monday (today) was looking suitable. I told John that I would be happy to go along if there was space with boat companies limiting numbers due to social distancing. Fortunately I was given the thumbs up and this morning we departed Fairlie on board Black Magic, an open RIB operated by C&C Marine. This was the boat that I’d previously visited Lady Isle on so we knew he had been there before and could get us onto the island as long as conditions allowed. Along for the ride too were Steve and Lianne who had driven for 5 hours to make it up just for this boat trip. They are fantastic company and such a lovely couple.

Lady Isle with its daymark and lighthouse

It took us about 90 minutes to reach Lady Isle and was a pretty comfortable journey – or at least it was for Lianne and I who sat on the nice comfy seat while the men bounced about a lot on the sides of the boat. As we approached the island the skipper had a look around at the area we’d landed at previously, but feeling it was just too bumpy we pulled back and moved in closer to the day mark on the east of the island. This was a good area to slide down on to the rocks without getting wet feet. Thankfully it hadn’t rained for a while so the rocks were nice and dry for walking over. What wasn’t so easy to walk over was the grass on the island itself, which was particularly long but nothing compared to what was to come later that day!

Lady Isle lighthouse really is very special and, as Lianne pointed out, it’s nice to have the island to yourself. I find that’s often one of the wonderful things about visiting these lights on islands that require a chartered boat. For the period you are there it almost feels like its your own little space. While we were there I sent a picture over to Bob of the island and it turned out the family were down at the seafront in Troon and spotted our boat approaching the island.

Lady Isle lighthouse with its external spiral staircase

There was genuine excitement amongst the group at managing to get there and land and I was pleased for John as, not only was it his final lighthouse in the area, but he had been very worried about whether or not we would make it and if it would be a wasted trip for Steve and Lianne. It certainly wasn’t and we all eventually returned to the boat. Getting back on the boat for Lianne and I with our short legs was rather amusing, but we managed it with a lot of help from the others!

One island simply wasn’t enough though and our second stop for the day was Little Cumbrae, which was a new island for Steve and Lianne. We weren’t sure, due to the wind direction, whether we would be able to land at the pier on the west side of the island, closest to two of the lighthouses, but the crew managed to get us in and it was lovely to follow the old tracks and steps up to the two more modern lighthouses.

Little Cumbrae lighthouse taken from the steps up from the pier

Cumbrae Elbow is the active light that now operates on the island and presumably it works quite nicely alongside Rubh’an Eun on Bute to guide vessels through the channel between the two islands. Next to this light is the old engine room for the foghorn which still contains the machinery, although it’s not looking anywhere near its best. I usually love the smell of these rooms, but with broken windows and open doors the smells seems to have gone in this one.

Exploring the old keepers’ cottages for the older lighthouse was again rather sad as the buildings have so much potential and could make incredible homes. There are signs that some improvements were made, but it is still in a bad way.

Having both been to the island before, John and I knew there was a way to get into the tower and we thought this was through one of the cottages, but it became clear that it wasn’t and we eventually found the entrance around the side. One benefit of not remembering where we needed to go though was that John was able to show us a really nice carving of a lighthouse above one of the windows on the outside of the building. It seemed like such a nice little touch, but a bit odd that it was above a window when normally these things would be over doors.

After eventually finding the entrance to the tower (and Steve who had already happened upon it) we set off up the tower. Not much had changed up there, but the views were still fantastic and it was just nice to be there again and enjoy the feeling of being at the top of a lighthouse.

With what looked to be a patch of rain approaching we decided to retreat to one of the cottages to eat lunch. We were going to head straight off from the lighthouse after lunch, but another building caught our attention and so we spent some more time exploring that and, in trying to establish what was at the far end of the building, John managed to find the old foghorn lying in the long grass!

Realising that we were running short on time for making it across the island we set off up the hill, which seemed steeper than I remember it being last time. The path on the approach to the hill was very overgrown in places, but it was still clear enough that we could find our way through. We’d already decided that we wouldn’t attempt to reach the remains of the oldest of the three lighthouses on Little Cumbrae which is close to the highest point on the island. The grass and ferns were already becoming difficult enough to get through to even consider battling our way through even less tamed terrain. We could see it from the path though.

The old lighthouse on the summit of Little Cumbrae

In most places the path was relatively obvious, but a couple of times we were met with what seemed to be a dead end, but Steve and John managed to guide us through. Some of the ferns were ridiculously long with some reaching up higher than mine and Lianne’s heads. It seemed an almost unrecognisable place compared to my last visit and the path seemed to go on for such a long time, leading at least two of us to say that Little Cumbrae wasn’t so little after all.

We were all very pleased when we spotted the top of the castle on the little tidal island near the pier that we were aiming for. The boatmen were there waiting for our arrival – thankfully only 5 minutes after the agreed time – and a couple of other men there who had camped on the island overnight had said they’d been across the island and attempted to resurrect the path a bit. During the recent Covid-19 lockdown there have obviously been fewer people visiting the island and stomping down the path and so nature has started to reclaim the island again.

The castle on the small tidal island off of Little Cumbrae

Once back on the boat it was a short little journey back across to Fairlie. It was an excellent day and a real pleasure to return to both of these islands. The company was great and the weather did hold out for us with the rain only starting as we were heading back to the marina. As Steve said a few times today while we were out – and I often say it on this blog – this type of day is what it’s all about. 🙂

Pladda at last

02/08/202002/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Arran, Holy Isle, lighthouse, lighthouses, Little Cumbrae, Northern Lighthouse Board, Pladda, Rubh an Eun, Scotland7 Comments

After the success of yesterday’s adventure on Loch Long, the crew at Sea Clyde had reserved the best weather day this weekend for getting to the island of Pladda – and what a day it was!

We set off from Largs mid-morning – the fabulous four: Bob, John, Seumas and I – with skipper Dan and were pleased to hear that conditions we’re looking great for landing on the island, but there was a fair amount to see from the boat even before we got there.

After an unsuccessful attempt to see Kylie, the resident dolphin, we continued on our way towards Little Cumbrae. Hugging the coastline as we went to protect us from any swell, we sailed down the west side of the island, taking in the views of the two lighthouses (and of course the old lighthouse on the approach) while at the same time occasionally glimpsing across to Bute where Rubh’ an Eun lighthouse could be seen from a greater distance. This felt like a proper return to the islands, even if we were just bypassing them.

The old and modern lighthouses on Little Cumbrae

Onwards towards Arran we went and as we approached the small stretch of water between Arran and Holy Isle the skipper pointed out a submarine in the water ahead of us. Now I know I was there for the lighthouses, but to see a submarine in real life was very exciting. Needless to say Seumas was delighted too! There are restrictions on how close you can sail to these monstrous vessels, so it wasn’t like sailing straight past it at close range, but it was still great to see.

It wasn’t long until we were sailing down the west side of Holy Isle and, of course, there was the Holy Isle Inner lighthouse ahead of us. This little tower is in such a great location and seeing it reflected in the water with the land rising to the highest point of the island behind it was just beautiful. That really is the best angle to see this one from.

Back out into the sea again and rounding a corner I heard the cry “lighthouse” from the back of the boat – Seumas has really taken to the role of lighthouse spotter. There ahead of us was Pladda with the fantastic two towers basking in the lovely sunshine.

It’s always a pleasure to land onto a nice jetty rather than rock hopping. It feels a little like luxury. The jetty is actually looking a little worse for wear now with large cracks running down it. Still it held together under our combined weight and that’s the most important thing.

From the jetty it was a short uphill walk to the level grassy section of the island following a good, clear path which took us all the way to the lighthouse. The double towers are absolutely fantastic and, although the low light is no longer in operation it is still very well maintained on the outside.

One thing about Pladda lighthouse is that it’s not the easiest one to take a picture of, particularly if you want both towers in the same shot without one looking like it’s leaning toward the other. You can get some rather dramatic views from the courtyard though.

The two towers on Pladda and the old foghorn air compressors

While Bob was flying his drone and capturing various aerial views, the rest of us explored around the old foghorn and took a number of pictures of the foghorn looking out towards the beautiful lump that is Ailsa Craig.

Looking out towards Ailsa Craig from the Pladda foghorn

In our next attempt to get a good view of the two towers I suggested the best area might be down near the rocks to which John replied that it would, but it would be a bit of a “jaump” (which I believe is a combination of “jump” and “jaunt”!?) He was right, although I wouldn’t have jumped it! There was another spot a bit closer next to the solar panels that I thought could be a good angle so we made our way around there, wading through the thick grass. This was a slightly better viewpoint, but still not quite right. John did find a ladder though that went down to the lower level. He went down, but decided not to walk too far as the birds were getting a bit stressed.

The Pladda towers, taken from the solar panels

We did a quick selfie using the drone (a “dronie” I believe it is called) and then explored the old gardens a bit. It was here that we discovered the best angle for getting both towers in the one picture and although it did mean upsetting a few birds we tried not to disturb them too much.

The two towers on Pladda seen from the garden

We trekked across the long grass towards the highest point on the island, which gave some excellent views towards the lighthouse (minus the little tower, which is obscured at that angle) with Ailsa Craig sitting quietly in the middle of the sea in the distance.

The view from the highest point on Pladda

It was then time to head back to the boat where we found Bob and Seumas playing on a small section of rocky beach. Seumas had built a lighthouse in the water and was throwing rocks (or asteroids) into the water surrounding it. That was his favourite part of the day!

Hopping back on the boat we took a quick spin around to see the lighthouses and foghorn from the sea, which again gave another interesting angle.

Pladda lighthouse towers and foghorn from the sea

Then the return journey began. This time we sailed up the east side of Holy Isle to get a nice view of the Pillar Rock lighthouse, which lived up to my expectations in terms of views. The steep slopes behind it looked a little frightening and Bob pointing out one of the crevasses up near the high point added to this.

There was still no sign of Kylie the dolphin on the way back, but arriving back in Largs I think we all agreed that it had been a very successful and enjoyable day out. Pladda has most certainly moved up a number of places in my favourite lighthouses list. It’s such a great island with its unique two tower arrangement. Days like this really is what it’s all about. 🙂

A spin up Loch Long

01/08/2020Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Carraig nan Ron, Cloch, Cloch Point, Clyde, Cnap Point, Dog Rock, Firth of Clyde, lighthouse, lighthouses, Loch Long, ScotlandLeave a comment

After the visits to Hestan island and some of the lights on the Rhins of Galloway last weekend, we had a great week in Dumfries and Galloway, including a fishing trip during which my son and I both caught our first fish. We also spent yesterday afternoon on the beach at Southerness. The location, of course, was based on there being a lighthouse there. I’m not sure I’ve spent quite so long at one lighthouse before as we did yesterday, but it was great to see it with the tide out as the previous visit had been at high tide.

Bob took the opportunity to play with his drone again and got some great images of the lighthouse from above.

We are now based over in Troon, staying with Bob’s mum. There have always been a few tricky lighthouses to get to in the area and so, with childcare on hand, we headed out today from Largs with Sea Clyde. We took along our little boy, Seumas, and my lighthouse friend John. Our destination for today was Loch Long, with a couple of others thrown in on the way there and back.

Regardless of how many times you see a lighthouse from land it is always different seeing it from the sea. After all they were made to be seen from the sea as John pointed out. On the way out today we sailed close to Cloch lighthouse and stopped for a while for some pictures. It looked a popular spot for fishing and it was good to see the foghorn in more detail too as the view is limited from the road.

Bob had his first attempt at launching the drone from a boat and landing it back down, which scary and amusing in equal measure. After a slightly stressful first attempt at taking off he then got on fine. Landing it back on the boat was very entertaining with the drone ending up giving John’s arm a firm hug!

Our next light was Ravenrock Point on the west bank of Loch Long. Due to social distancing guidance, Sea Clyde weren’t able to take along a dinghy to help with landings so we didn’t expect to be able to land at any of the lights today. The crew, John and Dan, took a look at how deep the water was around the lighthouse, but it wasn’t possible for us to land there. However it’s not too bad as this one is next to the road anyway so can be visited by land at another time. It looks like an interesting one to get a closer view of.

Further up the loch we stopped at Carraig nan Ron, or Dog Rock, and the water was nice and deep around this small rock which allowed them to get the boat right up to it. It was also dry and covered in barnacles so perfect for stepping onto. Seumas stayed safely in the boat with his camera, taking pictures of us as we visited the light. It was great to be back out and stepping onto these little islands again. There wasn’t much to the lighthouse, just a white column with the light sticking up from the top, but it had a little door and the rock was big enough to get some nice angles on it.

We’d sailed past Coulport where nuclear warheads are stored and loaded onto submarines. As we sailed away from Dog Rock, John pointed out that from one particular angle the rock and lighthouse looked a little like a submarine. On the way back down the loch later in the trip we noticed the rock could be accessed from the mainland at low tide – although I wouldn’t want to advise anyone to get to it that way through the huge expanse of forest!

Our final disembarkation for this trip was Cnap Point, which turned out to be rather an adventure in itself. The easiest place to land was slightly to the south of the lighthouse which meant finding a route through the foliage and undergrowth to get the the lighthouse. Seumas stayed on the boat again this time while the three of us went ashore. Once we were past the rocks we found ourselves having, as I called it, “a nice forest walk”. It’s fair to say that Argyll Forest Park is very much a forest. Bob went off ahead to find a suitable route. At one point we lost track of where he had gone and John suggested we head down towards the coast to assess the route that way rather than continuing through the forest. It turned out to be a very good move as we heard Bob shout out a few times closer to the lighthouse. It turned out he’d walked into a wasp nest on the final approach to the lighthouse and had a battle with the wasps. Avoiding the same fate, John and I took the coastal route and arrived safely at the tower. It’s the same type of structure as Dog Rock, but with even better views around it. This light is the front in a range setup and the rear light – a framework tower with brightly coloured panels – was easy enough to see from a short distance.

The return walk was slightly less dramatic, thankfully, and once back on the boat we sailed further around to see both range lights from the sea. There aren’t many lighthouses you can see surrounded by trees and Argyll is fairly unique in that way, along with the Glenelg area in the Highlands.

The Cnap Point front and rear range lights

On the way back to Largs we passed The Gantocks and The Perch beacons in the Firth of Clyde. Although they are not officially lighthouses in my book, they are still interesting structures.

Our final lighthouse of the day was Toward Point. I’d only seen this one once previously from the land and so it was good to see it from the sea, even if John did refer to the foghorn as looking like a car exhaust. The foghorn building itself is quite interesting. Although it lacks the majesty of many of the bigger towers, it’s still a nice one.

So that was my first boat trip of the year, which is strange to say in August. Normally by now most of my boat trips would have been and gone, but it’s certainly good to be back on the sea again. 🙂