July 2022 – uklighthousetour

Berwickshire-based bagging – part 3

23/07/2022Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Amble, Coquet, Coquet island, Coquet Lighthouse, England, lighthouse, lighthouses, Northumberland, The British Lighthouse Trail, Trinity House, UK2 Comments

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to spend some quality time on the Northumberland coast and one target for this trip was to get a closer look at Coquet Island, a mile off the coast of Amble. I was aware that only wardens were allowed to land on the island so the boat trip with Puffin Cruises seemed the best way to get as close as I could.

The trip also gave a really interesting insight into the history of the island’s lighthouse and the ownership in general. The island has been owned by the Duke of Northumberland since 1753 after changing hands between the church, and various local earls and others with titles over the centuries. When the lighthouse was originally being proposed on the island the Duke at that time stipulated that he wished for it to resemble a castle, hence the castellated tops to the towers of the structure.

There is evidence to suggest that the foundations of the lighthouse and some lower sections predate the lighthouse and are actually the foundations of what was a Benedictine monastery, which was completed in 1841. The lighthouse contains a sector light facing to the south, warning of the hazards of rocks lying just under the water between the south of the island and the mainland.

Although the island is no longer occupied throughout the winter months, it has a long history of occupation and a strong religious connection. Henry of Coquet, a Dane, wished to escape an arranged marriage after experiencing some sort of vision that told him to do so. Arriving in Tynemouth, he gained permission to build himself a small “cell” on Coquet island and lived there until his death in 1127. This is just one example of strange uses and habitation on the island. The Amble and District Local History website features a far more in depth history for anyone interested.

The restrictions on people landing on the island I had originally assumed was due to it being a site for nesting birds. It turns out it is instead that the island’s owner does not wish anyone to land on the island, with the exception of the RSPB wardens and Trinity House staff (though it was suggested that he’s not keen on the latter landing either, but the maintenance of the lighthouse is essential). As with the nearby Farne Islands, I expect that if Coquet was set up to accept visitors it would currently be closed due to Avian flu as its bird population has been very badly affected.

It was a good boat trip with very knowledgeable crew. I was quite nicely surprised at how close it actually got us to the island. It’s certainly worth doing the trip to get a closer look at the island and lighthouse. It’s also a great way to get a better look at the little light on the end of the pier in Amble.

We followed the boat trip with a visit to the beach to the south of Amble where we had great views across to Coquet 🙂

Some Berwickshire-based bagging – part 2

10/07/202213/07/2022Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Brownsman Island, England, Farne Islands, Inner Farne, islands, lighthouse, lighthouses, Longstone, Seahouses, Staple Island, The British Lighthouse Trail, Trinity House, UK2 Comments

On Sunday we decided to make the most of the good weather and set off from St Abbs for Seahouses. My dad was keen to go and see the puffins, the Farne islands being best place for them in the area. Sadly last weekend due to the ongoing devastation avian flu is causing, they announced that there would be no landing on either Inner Farne or Staple Island. This was a shame as I’ve been wanting to take a closer look at their respective lighthouses, but the bird-focussed boat trip took us around both as well as close to Brownsman Island and Longstone too.

The obligatory pictures of the lighthouse at Seahouses

The Farne islands are quite a special place if you are into lighthouses. There is plenty of history with 7 lighthouses in total gracing these small islands over time. The oldest was introduced on Staple Island in 1776, 100 years after permission was first granted for lights to be built on the Farne islands. Prior to this attempts at lighting the islands for navigation were limited to two fire baskets on Inner Farne. The Great Storm of 1784 unfortunately claimed the Staple Island tower, and it is believed that a second tower was then constructed to replace it. The remains of what could well be one of these towers can still be seen on the island, although I am unable to find confirmation that this is definitely the case.

This could be the remains of one of the first lighthouses in the Farne Islands

Fast forward eleven years and the first tower on Brownsman Island had been constructed. The remains of this tower are still visible as the tallest structure on the island.

The square tower of the first lighthouse on Brownsman Island

In 1809 Trinity House built the lighthouse on Inner Farne, which is still in operation today. Just two years later this became the High Light after a lower light was added to warn ships away from the nearby Megstone island. This low light was removed in 1911 when the high lighthouse was automated.

Meanwhile there was navigational development on Brownsman Island too with the introduction of a new lighthouse and attached building in 1810. This tower shared the same design as the Inner Farne light and contained a revolving reflector which burned paraffin oil.

The remains of the round lighthouse and attached building on Brownsman Island

By 1825 it had become clear that the lighthouse on Brownstone wasn’t preventing shipwrecks and the decision was taken to construct a lighthouse on Longstone.

Today Longstone and Inner Farne are the only two lighthouses still operating on the islands. The trip was a good opportunity to see these two again. Landing on Staple Island and Inner Farne will wait for another time 🙂

Some Berwickshire-based bagging – part 1

10/07/202210/07/2022Posted in Tour DiaryTagged lighthouse, lighthouses, Northern Lighthouse Board, Scotland, St Abbs, St Abbs LighthouseLeave a comment

Taking a break from holidays on the west coast of Scotland, we decided to have a family holiday with my parents in the Scottish Borders this time. I gave my son the choice of whether we stayed in a house on a farm or in lighthouse cottages. Thankfully he gave the right answer and so St Abbs it was.

A few hours after arriving on Friday evening, there was a beautiful sunset, which surprised me as I’d not quite got my bearings and it appeared to me that the sun was setting in the north.

Of course I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see St Abbs Lighthouse flashing. The lens has now been covered by a big sheet here and the light source is now one of the LED “puddings”. So sadly no sweeping beam, but still a joy to see.

I took a closer look at the lighthouse and old foghorn yesterday in the glorious sunshine. The tiny tower was great to see close up and it’s always nice to see a foghorn still in situ. St Abbs has the benefit of being relatively close to Edinburgh, where the Northern Lighthouse Board has their head office, and this proximity without the need for a boat means the station has often been used in the past for testing new practices and technology.

What really makes St Abbs so special is the incredible coastline. I remembered it very fondly from my first visit back in 2012 when it was the first Scottish lighthouse I visited on my tour. That day was also particularly sunny and the tall cliffs were certainly a good introduction to Scotland’s coastal scenery.

I was also delighted to find yesterday morning that Barns Ness Lighthouse is visible from St Abbs too and out of the cottage window last night I spotted the flashing of the lighthouse on the Isle of May. The light from the wonderful tower on the Isle of May is very powerful and I enjoyed seeing just how bright it was from Arbroath in recent years. Seeing it from so far south though was excellent. Bass Rock is visible from here too, but the light is perhaps not strong enough to reach St Abbs.

This evening’s sunset view towards the north west

This afternoon I’ve done plenty more exploring around the area. The aim was to check out the old jetty at Pettico Wick Harbour just down the road, which was reportedly built for landing supplies for the lighthouse. However, the coastal paths were a bit distracting. There’s only one way to describe the views and that is in pictures so here are a few.

Returning to the road, the view across Mire Loch, which I remembered so well from the first visit, was stunning. The loch is manmade, created around 1900 for leisure purposes.

There was a surprisingly good little path down to the old jetty. It quickly deteriorated though after rock falls in the area and you can clearly see that rocks underneath the jetty have been washed away. We passed a few warning signs on the way there. It’s a great little cove and the rock formations on the east side were very impressive.

Lured by the loch I decided we should take the loch side route back. This was an interesting little path, overgrown in some places and open in others, and even a small tree-lined stretch at one point.

The rather overgrown route on the east side of the loch

At the end of the loch the path meets the main walking route to the lighthouse. Following this track, we took one last detour for a closer look at the old walled garden used by the lighthouse keepers and their families. It is all very overgrown now, but it’s a huge area in a sheltered spot.

The view of the lighthouse from the south

I’m looking forward to seeing what the coming days bring here and whether it does actually ever rain at St Abbs! 🙂