Travel in Time #34 - Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
Since 2021, photographer and historical researcher Estelle Slegers Helsen has been wandering around Lochaber in the footsteps of the Scottish photographer W.S. Thomson MBE (1906-1967). She takes photographic remakes roughly 70 years after Thomson initially captured the landscape and talks to local people along her journey. Every fortnight, Estelle takes our readers to various places in Lochaber. This week, she focuses on Ardnamurchan Lighthouse.
The road to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, the most westerly of all British mainland lighthouses, can be challenging for anyone not used to driving on single-track roads. However, it is an ideal opportunity to showcase your passing place skills.
While the view of the sea and the lighthouse towering above the rocks is breathtaking, it is important to stay focused on the road and be mindful of the most westerly set of traffic lights on mainland Britain.
On a sunny and breezy day in April 2021, I had to wait a few minutes at the traffic lights. The traffic lights are there because, for the next 100 yards, the road becomes even narrower, with the sea edge on the left and steep rocks on the right, making it impossible for vehicles to pass.
The Stevenson family, who designed most of Scotland’s lighthouses over the course of 150 years, created the Egyptian-style lighthouse in 1845. It was produced by Alan Stevenson, uncle of novelist and travel writer Robert Louis Stevenson.
“It took three years to build the lighthouse and keepers’ cottages,” explained Davie Ferguson, the retained lightkeeper for three lighthouses in the area.
“The logistics were challenging. Two-ton rocks of Pink Ross, granite from the Isle of Mull, were quarried and shipped across the Sound of Mull to a pier about half a mile away.
“Once at the pier, the blocks were tilted onto carriages and pulled by horses to the site. Finally, the rocks were lifted with balanced cranes up to the desired height.”
The construction of the lighthouse was a godsend for the local men. They were destitute and desperate as a result of the potato famine in the Highlands.
The construction of the lighthouse allowed them to survive and gave them the means to support their families.
The 35-metre granite tower soars 55 metres above the rocks. You have to climb 140 steps and a couple of ladders to reach the dome.
At the top of the dome, the wind roars through a vent. For a long time, a paraffin burner was the light source. A constant flow of fresh air was required to keep the light going, and at least one keeper had to be present at all times to ensure that the light was always on.
Davie added: “Now the light source is an LED optic activated by a light sensor, which is less impressive than the old enamel glasses illuminated by paraffin oil.
“The last light keeper left Ardnamurchan Lighthouse in 1988. All the lighthouses in Scotland are controlled by The Northern Lighthouse Board, which is based in George Street in Edinburgh.”
Together with the light source, the Fresnel lens plays a crucial role. It captures all the light from a lamp, magnifies it, and steers it in the desired direction.
The light cast from the Ardnamurchan tower extends 24 miles, the visible horizon from 150 feet above sea level. The light travels halfway to the Outer Hebrides.
W. S. Thomson published two photographs of Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, each in a different edition of his booklet Let’s See Ardgour and Ardnamurchan.
One photo was taken nearby, the other from Dubh Rubna Mòr, on the south side of a bay just off the lighthouse.
When I showed the two photographs to Davie, he immediately noticed a difference between them.
“There is no fog horn in the first photograph and the building outside the lighthouse’s wall is missing. The fog horn was installed in the early 1950s.
“The extra building was built as an engine room, workshop and quarters for a third lighthouse keeper. It can be seen in the second original photograph, in which the fog horn is hidden behind the lighthouse wall.”
Although I have taken remakes of both photographs, I have chosen to publish the one with a broader view of the area. The weather on the day I took my photograph in April was much better than when Thomson visited and the weather was challenging.
The remake is a match, but the sea is calmer and there is only a little spray in the foreground. The isles of Muck and Rum are clearly visible in the background.
*Travel in Time - Lochaber Series was supported by the West Highland Museum and the Year of Stories 2022 Community Fund. Estelle has published a 64-page book with 30 side-by-side then-and-now photos, which you can find in local shops or buy online at www.travelintime.uk.
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