Eshaness 1979 During Building of Ve Skerry Lighthouse Click on picture to enlarge Photograph by Daniel Countts

The danger of the cliffs came to my attention recently when a local Shetland teenager was killed falling off a cliff in another part of the island. As far as I know no one has ever been killed around the lighthouse since we have lived there. A small dog fell over one of the cliffs and was killed.

I think we have been lucky, as tourists seemed to like the excitement of scrambling around on the very edge of these rock formations. I have seen parents let their children run along the precipice tops. Adults and children a like climb down the blowhole. This may seem all very exciting but what it is insanity.

The rock of these cliffs is always changing. It is not uncommon for giant pieces to fall into the sea. You may remember my letter about Poor Dore Holm who had one of his legs slide off into the sea. The storms in this area are furious. They batter the face of the cliffs with surf, rocks and debris from the ocean. One of the fun things to do at the lighthouse is to see what treasures the ocean and sent up the blowhole for us this time.

As we are beginning high tourist season I just hope and pray that the people who visit Eshaness will respect the cliffs and we will have no accident this summer. It certainly would spoil their vacation and others enjoyment of a beautiful area.

Sincerely,

Sharma

I love to hear from you so contact me by email at sharma@sharmakrauskopf.com

You can find more articles in the archive under Island Miniatures/Lighthouse Letters.

I have two books which are directly related to this column. The Last Lighthouse tells how we bought our lighthouse and in Scottish Lighthouses our lighthouse is featured in the 31 lighthouses presented. You can find out more about these books and other I have written at my official website.