On September 15th 1817, Corsewall Lighthouse began its story. Kirkman Finlay, a Glasgow merchant, had lobbied in 1814 for a lighthouse to be built at the mouth of Loch Ryan as he was losing his ships, cargo and crew to the unforgiving rocks nearby.
And so we have our very own piece of history in our local area! The P5-7 pupils of Leswalt and Portpatrick, and P6/7 of Kirkcolm were very privileged to be invited by John Ross and the Northern Lighthouse Board for an unprecedented tour of the lighthouse to wish it a very happy 200th birthday!
And what a visit! The pupils (and lucky accompanying adults!) got to watch a slideshow about the work of the Northern Lighthouse Board from its infancy to the present day. We learnt about the slightly older methods of lighting the lighthouse; coal, paraffin, candles and gas to the latest LED bulbs.
Dr Millar, retained Lighthouse Keeper, has a number of lighthouses in South West Scotland under his charge, with Corsewall being one of them. He took the children in small groups up to the top of the lighthouse and explained about the unique flashing pattern of this lighthouse and the maintenance jobs which he has to do. Incredibly, Corsewall Lighthouse was not automated until the mid-90s!
What a wonderful morning we all had! The children also received a pencil, bookmark and ruler to commemorate their visit. Many thanks to John and Jean Ross for thinking of us, and to Dr Millar and the Northern Lighthouse Board representatives for their guided tour and information session.
Oh and keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming issue of Our Wigtownshire as there will be an article on Corsewall Lighthouse in it with possibly some photos of people you might know!!
