Georgian lighthouses and birdringing - Wednesday

To the Calf of Man, sea permitting. The Calf is that little island just off the southern end of Man and boasts some classic Stevenson lighthouse and a ruined watermill.

And it's the location of one of the long-established British Bird Observatories.



But first we have to get to Port Erin - by steam train of course. Our loco today is Loch - here she is at the water tank in Port Erin.


And then by boat to the Calf... an uneventful trip out - about 24 of us in two boats.


Landing on the Calf is always difficult, and differing landing places are used at differing times - so the boat leaves us here, and promises to return, to an adjoining landing place later.


We are met by one of the Manx National Heritage Wardens - they manage the whole island, who talks us througha few landscape features before leading us to the Bird Observatory HQ in one of the old farmsteads.

This contraption is a rolled-up mist-net - for trapping birds for ringing in the evenings.





And this one is a Heligoland Trap - again, for catching birsd for ringing.





But most people are more interested in seeing the lighthouse - now visible in the distance - two historic ones, both disused, with a modern automated light inbetween them and a further modern light on the rocks below (out of sight in this pic.)



The two earlier lights were built as a pair in 1818, with their lights synchronised to revolve at the same time and indicate the position of the submerged Chicken Rock, just offshore. They were used until 1875 and were built by the famous Robert Stevenson & Co, the company which built many Scottish lighthouses, and whose most famous son was R L Stevenson, who gave up lighthouses design to travel and write novels. These lights, though not in Scotland, come under the Northern Lighthouse Board, rather than Trinity House.


This is the Upper Lighthouse - virtually identical to the lower one.











This view shows the later light built out on Chicken Rock itself in 1869-1875. Despite its small size and isolation this was manned, but is now automated.


The 1818 buildings are now, sadly, derelict, and even the modern light between them is now unmanned and automated. For more details on Manx Lights click here, and on the NLB and the modern management of the Calf lights the NLB, click here.



And so we run out of time again - some made it to see the mill, which has walls, some gearing and an overgrown millpond, but others had to rush back to make sure we didn't 'miss the boats' - here seen making their way back towards us from Port Erin.