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Noss Head Lighthouse, Caithness (Credit: Benedicta Makin)
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Noss Head Lighthouse

By Benedicta Makin

A journey stone homage to Noss Head Lighthouse
Image provided by Benedicta Makin
Noss Head Lighthouse, Caithness
Image provided by Benedicta Makin

This journey stone depicts the lighthouse at Noss Head. It was built in 1849 by Alan Stevenson, uncle to Robert Louis Stevenson. Alan was a classicist as well as an engineer, and interested in classical architecture, hence the Greek pediment above the lighthouse door, and the curves on the chimney stacks. The Stevenson family innovated with every lighthouse they built, and Noss Head was the first to have the triangular window panes, now retrofitted to all the Scottish Lighthouses. Most Scottish Lighthouses have a white and ochre coloured livery - I suspect that the ochre was chosen because it is so similar to the colour of rust on white paint. We live in the lighthouse keepers' cottages here, and this is the view of the lighthouse from my front door, adjusted for perspective. The light beams spell out the names in morse code of the six of us who created the panel, BEN, LIENE and ANN on the left, JILL, LORRAINE and ELEANOR on the right.


Many thanks to Benedicta Makin for sharing with us the story behind her journey stone, created as part of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands.

WHAT IS A JOURNEY STONE?

Prior to the beginning of the stitching of each tapestry panel, each stitcher of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands was tasked with telling their interpretation of the 'Spirit of the Highlands and Islands' within a blank outline of a stone. The possibilities were truly endless - is it represented in the land? The people? A historical site? A favourite memory?

In any case, each journey stone represents the connection between each individual stitcher, their story, and their own sense, or 'spirit', of place. Discover more of the stories behind the journey stones of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands here.