Lighthouse keepers from across Scotland were in the north-east over the weekend to mark a poignant anniversary.
The last of the the country’s beacons was automated 20 years ago, and on Friday night Fraserburgh’s Kinnaird Head lighthouse paid tribute to the hundreds of men who helped keep the country’s seafarers safe.
For the surviving families and former keepers who travelled to the port, it was also an occasion to meet with friends they had not seen in decades and an opportunity to reminisce.
Among those who spent the weekend in the town were Bill Gault – a former keeper of Kinnaird Head – and prolific lighthouse man Billy Muir.
Mr Gault, whose family have since set roots in the north-east, said the weekend brought back fond memories of his time in charge of beacons near and far.
Following automation, Mr Gault served with the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh and acted as a tour guide at the attraction for a time.
He took on a shift at Kinnaird Head between 11pm and midnight on Friday evening amid heavy rain.
Mr Gault said: “There are keepers here tonight that I haven’t seen in quite some time, and it’s been good. Things like this don’t happen often and as the years go on there’s less and less of us.
“Arthritis in my hip eventually meant I had to stop working at the museum, but I’ve quite enjoyed taking the visitors around tonight. Kinnaird Head left a major mark in my life.
“My eldest son got a job in St Fergus Gas Terminal and my youngest is an offshore supervisor. We all still leave near and it suits me well.
“And it brings back all sorts of memories being here tonight. I was stationed here for four years before being sent to Skerryvore. It’s been something different – totally – to come back after 20 years.
“Lighthouse keeping isn’t a job that suits everyone – some stations suited people and some didn’t. Sometimes there wasn’t anything to do for young children, so they couldn’t go playing football and things like that. You have to have quite a lot of patience at times and self-sufficient.
“My secret was that I had my own boat and I could go fishing on a fine day.”
His friend, Mr Muir, is the current caretaker of North Ronaldsay’s beacon – an island where he has been credited with holding 20 jobs from firefighter to handyman and keeping the community afloat.
He has served with the Northern Lighthouse Board for more than 45 years and in 2016 was awarded a nationawide award for his efforts.
Before his shift at 1am on Friday, the 69-year-old joked he had done nothing to help the government with the retirement age.
“We had a reunion once before, but this is the first time ever something like that has happened at a lighthouse,” he added.
“Working tonight makes it even more special.
“The Northern Lighthouse Board is one of the finest organisations in the world that you could work for, and if I could I would do it all again.”
“Since automation there have been big changes – but Robert Stevenson would have automated if he had the technology available to him. You have to go with technology and adapt to keep the lights going. It has to survive and move with the times.
“Lighthouses are a small part of what I do, but it’s a major part of my life.
The event was organised by the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh and concluded on Sunday, when the chief executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, Mike Bullock, marked the start of automation by once more turning off the light at Kinnaird Head.
The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses collections manager, Michael Strachan, spearheaded efforts to make the celebration happen.
Last night, he said: “The event has been a resounding success for the museum team.
“We have been absolutely delighted with the response of visitors who all thoroughly enjoyed their experience over the weekend. In the evening alone we had about 150 people up the lighthouse in five hours.
“We are indebted to our team of keepers and Northern Lighthouse Board officers who manned the light for the 24-hour period, making the event unique.
“It was our manager Lynda McGuigan’s idea to have the light manned by former keepers, and I believe this is what made the event extra special.”
