My first problem is getting enough ice off the windscreen
so I can see to get to Neist Point without killing a large number of the sheep which are free ranging and appreciate that the roads are easier than crossing the boggy fields.
It is certainly sub-zero this morning and I must admit to a few second thoughts …
When I arrive the weather gods have been kind in that there is no rain or strong wind but the clouds and light I am looking for have disappeared.
The only other people out here at this time of the morning are three young Brazilians who work in Germany but are taking a short driving holiday around Scotland on a break and have come out here to appreciate the scenery and meditate on the meaning of life. At least that’s what they tell me.
One of them asks to have his photo taken while standing on the top of the “Stallion” rock and for me to post it on my website … so here it is.
Digby and Rosemary are going to join me at around 9am with Rosemary’s sixth cousin by marriage twice removed, or something like that, who owns the lighthouse cottages and is going to show us around. It is about a kilometre walk from the carpark to the lighthouse down some pretty steep steps. Apparently she lived out there alone for about a year, lugging everything up and down the stairs and path by hand. Wonder-woman if you ask me !!
The stone cottages haven’t been lived in or maintained for several years now and the neglect is certainly showing. Despite vigorous efforts none of the locks on the doors are able to be operated and we have content ourselves with looking through the windows.
I am so appalled by the magnitude of the work needed to restore this place, which it appears is what is intended, that I forget to take many photographs …
One of the more interesting items is a now abandoned fog-horn used to warn ships of impending doom when the lighthouse is fog-bound. This giant horn is about 3 metres long, a metre in diameter and can be pivoted on a circular track to aim it at approaching ships. It must have been operated by steam or compressed air when working, which was up until 1989, and would have been deafening to anyone in the local vicinity.
But it is now merely a curiosity and I doubt than any part of it could even be moved, much less operated, given the rust built up on it. In this exposed location it is a wonder that there is much of it left in the salty sea air.
By now it is warming up a little and even a few coats are removed for the hike back up to the carpark.
We are back by about 1pm for lunch and a rest up after our somewhat strenuous efforts. Digby returns to Neist Point later in the afternoon to do some drawing and sketching and I am going about sunset in the hope of some reasonable light.
But again the sky is almost clear and the light is not kind.
Unfortunately the weather gods must have decided that some bog-standard ordinary lighting is the order of the day so the opportunities are limited. A bright half-moon adds the only real point of interest. But I hang in there until the sun dips below a low cloud bank on the horizon and there is just a glimmer of pink in the sky to give me hope for another day …
Tomorrow is Saturday and time for me to depart Glendale for the delights of Lower Breakish and the south west end of the island.
Comments powered by CComment