Point of Sleat

After writing the last post on IKEA lighthouses, I remembered another memorable minor light I'd visited long ago; one that has also been replaced by an IKEA tower. This particular light stood at one of the most iconic locations in the Hebrides, the Point of Sleat, the southernmost tip of the isle of Skye. Anyone who has taken the Calmac ferry to Canna or Rum has come within a mile of the point. Although I've sailed past it a dozen times, I've only visited it once.

That visit was way back in 1997. My wife and I were staying at the Eilean Iarmain Hotel, and on our last morning I decided to get up early and walk to the point. (I had a lot more energy back then. These days I like to sleep in). A ten-mile drive took me to the end of the road, where there was a small parking area. From there it was an enjoyable two-mile hike out to the light; passing, along the way, a half-dozen abandoned crofts. 

The light I visited dated to 1934. Unlike IKEA towers it had an external ladder that allowed you to climb to the balcony. As described in my journal entry for that day, from the top of the tower you could see the internal workings of the light:

...looking into the lantern room you could see a small mantle, like on a gas lantern, set to a low burn. Every 10 seconds (not sure, didn't think to measure it) a stream of more gas pulsed into the mantle to make it glow brighter for a second. 

My estimate was a bit off, as the Pilot's Guide for Skye says the beacon flashes every three seconds. The light I saw in 1997 was replaced by this IKEA tower in 2003.

It was probably photos like the next one, of a suspicious-looking vagrant messing around the light, that led them to put up towers that can not be climbed.