The lantern is of special design, and is one of the most powerful around the Scottish coasts. It is of the revolving class, reaching its brightest state once every minute, and may be seen from the deck of a vessel eighteen miles away. Six years were occupied in the completion of the work, and, as may be imagined, the final touches were welcomed with thankfulness by all those who had been concerned in the enterprise. The tower contains 4,308 tons of granite, and the total cost was £86,977, or $434,885, rendering it one of the costliest in the world. This sum, however, included the purchase of the steam-vessel which now attends the lighthouse, and the construction of the little harbour at Hynish.
The lighthouse-keepers live on the island of Tyree, where are provided substantial, spacious, single-floor, masonry dwellings with gardens attached. This is practically a small colony in itself, inasmuch as the accommodation includes, not only that for the keepers of the Skerryvore, but for the guardians of the Dhu-Heartach light as well.
CHAPTER VIII
THE LONELY LIGHTS OF SCOTLAND
Barren ruggedness, ragged reefs, and towering cliffs form an apt description of the north and west coasts of Scotland, and he is a prudent navigator who acknowledges the respect which these shores demand, by giving them a wide berth. The Norwegian coast is serrated, the island of Newfoundland may be likened to the battered edge of a saw, but Scotland is unique in its formation. The coastline is torn and tattered by bays and firths, with scattered outlying ramparts. The captain of a “tramp” who has sailed the seven seas once confessed to me that no stretch of coastline ever gave him the shivers so badly as the stretch of shore between Duncansby Head and the Mull of Kintyre.
Certainly a ship “going north about” is menaced every mile of her way between these two points unless she takes a very circuitous course. If the weather conditions are favourable and daylight prevails, the North of Britain may be rounded through the narrow strait washing the mainland and the Orkney Islands, but the Pentland Firth is not an attractive short-cut. The ships that run between Scandinavian ports and North America naturally follow this route, as it is several hundred miles shorter than that via the North Sea and English Channel; but they keep a sharp eye on the weather and are extremely cautious. When the Pentland Firth is uninviting, they may either choose the path between the Orkneys and the Shetlands, or, to eliminate every element of risk, may stand well out to sea, and round the most northern stretches of the Shetlands. These are lonely seas, comparatively speaking, and yet are well lighted. Although a wicked rock lies in the centre of the eastern entrance to the Pentland channel, it is indicated by the Pentland Skerries light. When the mariner in his wisdom pushes still farther north, he falls within the glare of the rays thrown from the beacon near Muckle Flugga. This is the northernmost point of the British Islands, and it is truly forbidding. The rock lies three-quarters of a mile off the Shetland Islands, and is a huge fang, sheering to a height of 196 feet above high-water. On the side facing north it rears up so abruptly that it appears to lean over, while on the opposite side it is almost as steep.
The majority of lighthouses have been called into existence by the claims of commerce purely and simply. But it was not so with the North Unst lighthouse, as the beacon crowning this pinnacle is called. War was responsible for its creation, though probably sooner or later the requirements of peace would have brought about a similar result. While the armies of France and Britain were fighting the Russians in the Crimea, the British fleet was hovering about these waters, watching the mouth of the Baltic, so as to frustrate any attempts on the part of the Russian fleet to dash around the northern coast of Scotland. In those days these lonely seas were badly lighted, and the Admiralty realized only too well the many perils to which the warships were exposed while cruising about the pitiless coasts of the Orkneys and Shetlands. Accordingly, the department called upon the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses to mark Muckle Flugga. Time was everything, and the engineers were urged to bring a temporary light into operation with the least delay.
The engineers hurriedly evolved a tower which would meet the Government needs. It was thought that the extreme height of the rock would lend itself to the erection of a building which, while possible of early completion, would be adequate for subsequent purposes. The materials for the light, together with a lantern, and a second building for the storage of the oil and other requisites, were shipped northward from Glasgow. Simultaneously the engineers, with another small gang of men who had already reached the rock, pushed on with the preliminary preparations, so that when the constructional vessel arrived erection might go ahead straightforwardly and rapidly.
