Little Cumbrae – uklighthousetour

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. 🙂

Discovering Wee Cumbrae’s lighthouse heritage

09/06/201610/06/2016Posted in Tour DiaryTagged Castle Island, lighthouse, Lighthouse Hill, Little Cumbrae, Northern Lighthouse Board6 Comments

At the weekend we spent some time in Ayrshire and, thanks to our friend Rick, we went on a fantastic trip over to Little Cumbrae (also know locally as Wee Cumbrae). It’s always exciting to visit a small island with more than one lighthouse – sort of like visiting the Calf of Man. It’s always a treat. Wee Cumbrae is particularly special though in that it has three generations of lights.

The ride over to the island in a RIB was very short and uneventful, which made a nice change! After saying goodbye to our chauffeurs and their very excitable dog, we began making our way towards the island high point, which was of interest to us all. For me it was to see the island’s oldest lighthouse, while the rest were keen to reach the high point in order to legitimately say they had bagged the island. There was a nice path most of the way to the high point, but as we got closer it became apparent that we would need to go off piste, so we cut across the grass, ferns and various other types of foliage.

We finally reached the old lighthouse and explored the remains. The tower was originally built in 1757 and, according to Canmore, was a 30ft tower with 3ft thick walls. The coal for the light was supported by an iron cage or grate. From inside the tower it is still possible to see where steps up the light used to be and, to the north of the tower, are the remains of the old keeper’s cottage. Less than 40 years after it was first lit, the lighthouse was replaced. From the lighthouse it was just a short walk to the island high point.

Our next destination was the second of the island’s lighthouses, first lit by the Cumbrae Lighthouse Trust with funds generated from the shipping dues from the old lighthouse. The lighthouse was designed by Thomas Smith, the first Northern Lighthouse Board’s engineers, and its construction was overseen by Robert Stevenson, the first of the “Lighthouse Stevensons”. The lighthouse is a fascinating place to visit now that it is no longer operational. The tower, all of the keeper’s cottages and associated buildings are now open so you can have a good look around. We were pleased to be able to get right to the top of the lighthouse and there is still a distinct smell of mercury about the tower. The keeper’s cottages are home to an interesting array of relics, including some 1970s editions of Reader’s Digest and, oddly, a few sets of old airplane seats. We spent quite some time exploring the buildings and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The Little Cumbrae beacon now sits on the old fog horn tower

Located close to the lighthouse was the old fog horn control room and tower, upon which the operational beacon now sits. By this point the sun had come out and we enjoyed lunch near the lighthouse, explored the old pier area which was clearly where access to the lighthouse from the sea had previously been, and then headed back across the island.

When we arrived back at our drop-off point we still had a fair amount of time left before we were picked up so a few members of the group wandered across to Castle Island, a very short distance off of the east coast of the island. When I say “wandered” what I mean is that, initially, the group used various methods of getting across the fairly shallow stretch of water. Bob was first across and just waded his way through with his shoes on and everything. The next three sensibly removed their shoes and paddled across. As the tide continued to recede, the next two or three people threw rocks into the water to use as stepping stones for getting across. By the time most of the group had crossed, the water had gone down enough for me to just stroll over to the island without getting wet feet at all.

Castle Island is so called due to the beautifully preserved lighthouse which sits upon it. Apparently dating back to the 16th century, there is now a set of wooden steps leading up to the castle entrance. There are some fantastic rooms in the castle, some of which contain some wooden tables and benches. The views from the top, where more benches can be found, are stunning. We spent quite some time up there. By the time we returned from Castle Island the tide was fully out and the crossing was dry.

We spent the remainder of our time on the island looking around the grounds of the yoga and meditation centre. A really well-kept garden and definitely a good island for some relaxation. It was a great island and I was pleased to be able to bag two new lighthouses there 🙂