We are on our way to walk to Loch Garbad. Dusk is on the back seat. When I hear her move, feel her patting me on the shoulder with her paw, I presume she needs a ‘comfort break’ (as they politly say on coach trips). We turn off the road onto a side lane towards the village of Kildonan, and park on the first layby we come to.
I think Dusk just wanted us to see the glorious coastline and the two islands nearby: Ailsa Craig and Pladda. Ailsa Craig deserves its own blog, so what follows is what we discovered about Pladda Isle.
Pladda Isle (Pladda – Scottish Gaelic: Pladaigh – the name comes from Old Norse and means “flat isle”) has been the site of a lighthouse since 1790).
The main structures of the Pladda lighthouse date from 1820 and were constructed under the administration of Thomas Smith of the Stevenson company.
To allow seafarers to distinguish it from the other nearby lighthouses at the Mull of Kintyre, Cumbrae and Copeland, a lower light from a small lantern twenty feet lower than the original one was installed and this carried on for more than one hundred years. And in 1876, a fog signal was also installed on Pladda.. This arrangement operated for about 100 years.
Pladda Isle (Pladda – Scottish Gaelic: Pladaigh – the name comes from Old Norse and means “flat isle”) has been the site of a lighthouse since 1790).
In 1901 fixed lights were no longer regarded as suitable for the island so coastal lights and a group of flashing lights were installed. The lower tower was then no longer needed.
The lighthouse keepers who were permanently attached to the station were brought provisions four times a month, two of which landed on Sundays to allow light keepers to attend church.
Everything changed in 1972 when a helicopter began to be used to transport the keepers. But then, in 1990 lighthouse became automated and the lighthouse keepers were no longer needed. The lighthouse is now monitored remotely from Edinburgh and the island is unoccupied. The traditional lantern and lens have been replaced by a couple of solar powered LED lights.
The modern plaque at the base of the main tower bears the crest of the Northern Lighthouse Commisioners and the motto “In Salutem Omnium” – For the Safety of the island
Previously the island was part of the Arran Estate, but in 2022 it was bought and is now privately owned. There are plans to build a luxury property on the island.
ENDNOTE:
For over one hundred and fifty years Robert Stevenson and his descendants designed most of Scotland’s Lighthouses. Battling against the odds and the elements – the Stevensons constucted wonders of engineering that have withstood the test of time, an amazing historical achievement.
Robert Stevenson’s talented family also included the famous writer/novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (his grandson). Visits with his family to remote lighthouses are thought to have inspired his books Kidnapped and Treasure Island.
“There is scarce a deep sea light from the Isle of Man to North Berwick,
but one of my blood designed it.
The Bell Rock stands monument for my grandfather;
the Skerry Vhor for my uncle Alan;
and when the lights come out along the shores of Scotland,
I am proud to think that they burn more brightly for the genius of my father.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
The above was found on the link https://tinyurl.com/yb9x6mpj when I was researching Pladda. It’s fascinating going down these rabbit holes!!
Judith Barrow 