Fair Isle South in Shetland was Scotland's last manned lighthouse, losing its keepers in 1998.
Our lighthouses continue to play a vital role, of course, as automated structures.
The fates have not been so kind to Bona Lighthouse on the Caledonian Canal. It was the smallest lighthouse to be manned in Scotland but it has fallen into disrepair, despite standing sentry where the canal enters that Loch Ness, that tourist magnet. To exploit its location, plans have been approved to convert the lighthouse into holiday accommodation. The development is to be welcomed, for several reasons. First, the unusual, 200-year-old structure will be repaired and refurbished. Secondly, the restoration should boost the local economy by encouraging more holidaymakers to visit and stay. Thirdly, the development is another example of how new life can be breathed into a canal network that, in parts (excluding the busy Caledonian), has been moribund.
All being well, the lighthouse will, when work has been completed, shine a new beacon, one that denotes renewal, vitality, economic activity and fun. Bona. Good.
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