Author Topic: Bell rock lighthouse (Read 2949 times)

mojocafa · « **on:** August 24, 2014, 04:01:43 pm »

Went on a wee trip out to the bell rock lighthouse today, absolutely fantastic, just had to share

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #1 on:** August 24, 2014, 05:27:14 pm »

Beautiful.

mojocafa · « **Reply #2 on:** August 24, 2014, 05:56:53 pm »

It was beautiful, 11 miles off the coast, as you can see , not much of a swell in the waves, quite calm. I will sleep tonight, all that fresh sea air, and an added bonus I wasn't sick

shygirl · « **Reply #3 on:** August 24, 2014, 06:10:30 pm »

where is that?
im so amazed at how they build things like that. beautiful. would take a strong mind to live on one.

mojocafa · « **Reply #4 on:** August 24, 2014, 06:28:30 pm »

It is 11 miles off the coast of arbroath, it was completed in 1810. Before there was a light it was a bell to warn ships of the rocks that it is situated on.

shygirl · « **Reply #5 on:** August 24, 2014, 06:32:05 pm »

id love to go on a boat trip to test our sea legs again, i havent sailed since being very ill on the irish ferry

very envious right now

Rosemary · « **Reply #6 on:** August 24, 2014, 07:32:21 pm »

Was it not built be the father of RL Stevenson? It's an incredible work of engineering because of where and how it's built. Ashamed to say, we haven't been but will add it to the list for next summer

mowhaugh · « **Reply #7 on:** August 24, 2014, 07:35:21 pm »

Beautiful, pleased you had a lovely day and thank you for sharing the photo.

mojocafa · « **Reply #8 on:** August 24, 2014, 08:53:34 pm »

Here is the bell rock light from my bedroom. Above the goal posts out to sea, you can just see the light.

Rosemary, at the other side of the telegraph pole above the trees , I think that might be Barry light house

mojocafa · « **Reply #9 on:** August 24, 2014, 09:04:25 pm »

Yes, it was built by Robert Stevenson senior .

Izzy · « **Reply #10 on:** August 26, 2014, 08:40:19 am »

I can really recommend Bella Bathurst's book on the lighthouse Stevensons. She writes very well. The conflict between those wanting to prevent shipwrecks and those who lived locally and more or less made a living from plundering a wreck is stark. The effort and ingenuity required to build them is amazing. Many are built on reefs that are only exposed at lowtide so the squad either worked around that or built little wooden huts on stilts (like Indonesian longhouses) where they rested at high tide. Despite the storms the workers preferred this to going ashore where they were intimidated by locals who saw them as taking away their living. Amazingly no cement is used. Every stone is cut on shore to a plan involving advanced trigonometry all worked out in longhand (no calculators or PCs then!) so that when fitted together they form a rigid, immoveable structure that is shaped to allow waves to break smoothly. From fairly lowly origins the family prospered and RL Stevenson had a priveliged upbringing, going as a young gentleman to Ed Uni to study engineering. He had spent his teenage summer holidays working on site and knew it wasn't for him. He changed his studies to Eng Lit much to the disappointment of his grandfather who one imagines thought of literature as pointless.