大象传媒 Scotland - 大象传媒 Scotland - Battered by Atlantic winds, this remote lighthouse has stood guard for over a century 鈥� and it鈥檚 as important now as ever

Battered by Atlantic winds, this remote lighthouse has stood guard for over a century 鈥� and it鈥檚 as important now as ever

23 November 2018

The Butt of Lewis lighthouse has been standing guard over the wild and dangerous Hebridean coast since 1862.

Built by the renowned Stevenson family, the lighthouse towers above all else on the northernmost edge of the Isle of Lewis. To the west lies over 3000 miles of Atlantic Ocean; the next landmass is the coastline of Canada.

Inside the Butt of Lewis lighthouse

The lighthouse is now automated, but its role remains as important as ever.

While the building remains steadfast, times have moved on and the lighthouse is now automated and monitored from Edinburgh, nearly 300 miles away.

But the rugged Lewis coastline is hazardous and this – combined with the fearsome weather swept in by the Atlantic – means that the need for the lighthouse remains as great as it was over a century ago.

The Stevensons were a Scots engineering dynasty who tamed the rugged Scottish coastline.

Robert Stevenson, his sons and grandsons erected numerous lighthouses around the wildest edges of the country.

However, not all joined the family business. One of Robert’s grandsons – Robert Louis – followed another path and became one of Britain’s best-loved writers.