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| The Cape Byron Lighthouse Photograph: 4c's Enterprises |
The Cape Byron Lighthouse is not only Australia's most easterly lighthouse, but it's also the country's most powerful. At night we would watch the light go round and round from the sand dunes, and during the day, we could see the tall white tower from the beach.So, is it just me and the effect of my childhood memories, or do lighthouses hold a special fascination for others too? Perhaps the appeal is symbolic - a guiding light for those in troubled waters.
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The Lady Bay Upper Lighthouse Flagstaff Hill, Warrnambool Photograph: Ed Kavaliunas |
Since I've laid bare my love for all things lighthouse, you probably won't be surprised to learn I managed to sneak a lighthouse into a book. In fact, I set an entire book at a fictitious luxury hotel: The Lighthouse Hotel in Connecticut, New England. In Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal, one of the first things my heroine, April Fairchild, wants to do when she arrives at the hotel, is climb the steps of the lighthouse. April has many traits that have nothing to do with me - eg., she can sing and play the piano beautifully - but that need to climb to the top of the lighthouse is all me. :)
So, what about you? Have you ever visited a lighthouse? Or had a fascination for them? I'm eager to hear about more lighthouses and any memories you have!
Rachel, I think you're so right about lighthouses being symbolic to a lot of folk. Tall, straight, white, and shining a light far into the distance to help those who may need it. There's a movie in the back of my mind that has a great lighthouse scene, I think at the end. Can't remember it now, but it'll come to me and when it does, as Arnie would say, I'll be back!
ReplyDeleteRobbie
Yes, Robbie! That aspect of shining the light into the far distance. Very powerful.
ReplyDeleteOooh, looking forward to hearing about the movie!
I have never seen a lighthouse in person, but I've been fascinated by them for years. I am a postcard collector and especially lighthouse ones. I have over 400 lighthouse ones. Some are just different shots of the same lighthouse though so I don't have that many different ones. I don't have any from Australia or New Zealand though. I have one from Hawaii and several from European countries but they are hard to get my hands on. I bought some Irish ones online and they are visually stunning, the coastline is so rugged in areas. I have a small collection of Olympic ones that I really like too. I know postcard collecting doesn't sound that exciting to most people but I don't travel so it's my way of seeing different places. I'd love to see a lighthouse in person some day.
ReplyDeleteLinda, a kindred spirit! I think it's incredibly cool that you have a lighthouse postcard collection (but then I'm fascinated with them too!). In fact, I'm going to keep an eye out for some Australian ones for you. I'll let you know if I find some and get your address then!
ReplyDeleteGotta say, I have a soft spot for lighthouses. I think because so often they are in isolated places. It let's your imagination run.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I should admit this(?) but one of my favourite episodes from The Goodies when I was a kid was the one where they managed a lighthouse, lol.
Anita, I loved the Goodies when I was a kid, but I don't remember a lighthouse episode. Almost makes me want to go searching...
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, the isolation. And they're usually up high so there's a nice, strong breeze too. Lighthouse Gothic, we could call it. Maybe start a new genre. Nikki's been promising me a lighthouse story for a while now. With penguins. :)
Many moons ago I read a romance where the heroine lived in a lighthouse (with her father? and siblings -- can't remember that bit). However, what I do remember is that at high tide the lighthouse was cut off from the mainland leading to a couple of seriously hairy moments. And, from memory (which is admittedly poor), I remember the heroine opening the door and a big wave coming in.
ReplyDeleteMethinks that would fit your Lighthouse Gothic perfectly, Rachel. :-)
Michelle, what an atmospheric story that must have been. And yes, I can see Lighthouse Gothic really gathering momentum now as a genre...
ReplyDeleteI have prints on my walls of those famous photos taken by a helicopter circling a lighthouse that's being pounded by waves. There's a man at the door with a hand in his pocket - all kinds of calm!
Rachel, they are fascinating, aren't they! We were down at Airey's Inlet last year and the lighthouse there is called The White Queen because it looks so much like the chess piece.
ReplyDeleteThere's an amazing lighthouse which I've seen a TV documentary about... it's somewhere off Scotland, I think. It's basically just a lighthouse on a rock and it gets such a pounding from the sea!
:)
Sharon
ooooo, I found a Wikipaedia link about it...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Rock_Lighthouse
and it has it's own website - how about that!
http://www.bellrock.org.uk/
:)
Sharon
Sharon, that's fascinating. I see on its wikipedia page that Bell Rock Lighthouse was classed as one of the seven wonders of the Industrial Age, but I'd never heard of it. Thanks for the great info!
ReplyDeleteSpurred on by Sharon's excellent research skills, I found a website with the photos I mentioned above that I have on my walls. It even has an animation sequence with the photos together.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jean-guichard.com/index.php?main_page=index
It seems that the man at the lighthouse door had come out because he thought the photographer's helicopter was the rescue helicopter. He had to rush back in when he realised and close the door against the monster waves.
I love lighthouses too, Rachel! There are a couple of lighthouses on the Californian coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz that have been turned into Youth Hostels -- and I stayed at one! It was wonderfully exposed on its headland, with a little private beach where we could sit and watch the sun go down, and at night we heard the constant roar of the waves. Magic!
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI visited Cape Reinga Lighthouse on the very tip of the North Island in New Zealand. It's very beautiful. I wish I could post photos here but it comes up in google.
Emily, I'm turning green hearing about those youth hostels. What a great idea, and that little beach sounds divine. Makes me want to visit. Maybe one day when I get to the US.
ReplyDeleteNas, I just searched for the Cape Regina Lighthouse and found a site on the Maritime NZ site: http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/Commercial/Shipping-safety/Aids-to-navigation/Lighthouses-of-NZ/Cape-reinga-lighthouse.asp
ReplyDeleteIt's such a pretty one with the sloped sides! I must put that one on my list to visit.
I love lighthouses. I live on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a small little peninsula surrounded by water. Five minutes in one direction and you are at the Chesapeake Bay, five minutes in the other and you are at the Atlantic Ocean. My favorite beach around here is Assateague where they have a beautiful red and white striped lighthouse that I have climbed. It was awesome. Thinking of the keeper who had to haul the huge barrels of lamp oil up all those steps and keeping the light shining just made it all the more magical. There are two lighthouses on the Eastern Shore but Assateague's is my favorite. There are many legends of pirates, sunken ships, and of course treasure. After a big storm, you never know what you can find on the beach.
ReplyDeleteLove lighthouses! I have a gorgeous shot of Montara lighthouse in California as one of my desktops, and loved taking a trip from Massachusetts to Maine and stopping at any we came across.
ReplyDeleteTo me, they're about coming home (symbolically because of the light, and also because I can see one from my tram stop) and loss--I remember waking up one morning in 1999 and turning on the TV to see the shot of a helicopter flying over Gay Head lighthouse, headed out to sea to search for John Kennedy Jr's lost plane. Such a powerful image that I always associate with that terrible day.
What a coincidence. We've had quite a bit of news about Bell Rock in the UK this week because it's 200 years since the lighthouse was first lit. It was built by Robert Stevenson, the first of the great Stevenson family of lighthouse builders who built lots in the UK, many of which still operate today. Of course, they did have one black sheep in the family, Robert Louis Stevenson, who gave up his early career of lighthouse builder and decided to become a writer (and we all know there's no future in that!).
ReplyDeleteI lived in the Orkney Islands for six years, where lighthouses are still a vital part of life to keep folk safe. I'm still fascinated by them.
Charlene, that story of your local lighthouse is amazing - not only pretty red and white stripes, but all those legends too. Fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I know what you mean about the lighthouse keeper having to climb all those stairs with the lamp oil - what a hard life! When I was reading about the Cape Regina Lighthouse that Nas mentioned, I saw that the keeper and his family often had to go over from the mainland by flying fox. Not sure I'm that brave!
Gabrielle, how interesting that they have extra symbolism for you, with one near your tram stop plus the JK Jr's plane.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because lighthouses are so striking, when we see them in an image, they're the thing we remember most strongly?
Since you mentioned a specific lighthouse, I had to google it :), and found that Montara Lighthouse is a youth hostel - I wonder if it's one that Emily May visited on her trip? It's very distinctive with its black top and white body - it must make a fabulous desktop!
Okay, so after googling Gabrielle's lighthouse, I had to google the one Charlene mentioned: http://www.assateagueisland.com/lighthouse/lighthouse_info.htm For some reason I visualised the stripes going vertically - not sure why, since horizontally makes more sense, lol.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested, the Montara lighthouse that Gabrielle mentioned: http://norcalhostels.org/montara/history/
Margaret, thanks for the info! You know, when I saw that the Bell Rock Lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson, I wondered if there was a connection to Robert Louis Stevenson. Maybe writers and lighthouses are more connected than I realised. :)
ReplyDeleteVery cool that I blogged about this around the 200th anniversary of the Bell Rock being lit. Almost makes it look like I know what I'm talking about! ;)
Lighthouses immediately made me think of that show 'Round the Rwist" where the famly whg live there had odd, paranormal happenings frequently occur.
ReplyDeleteI too love lighthouses, there's something strong and indestructable about them.
Oh, and what a cool place to write, at the very top of a lighthouse!
I think you're right about the symbolism--just so striking. Here's where you can get the Montara desktop:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.webshots.com/pro/photo/3158303?navtype=search
You can see people relaxing in the Adirondack chairs outside--Emily, was that you? It's such a magical shot, with the moon and the flowers.
And Margaret, my grandfather's family comes from the Orkneys--know any Drevers?
Ooooh, now that I can see, Mel. Strange paranormal happenings in an old lighthouse. Would fit straight in with our new genre: Lighthouse Gothic! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, I've just put up some lighthouse photos here:
ReplyDeletewww.nas-dean.blogspot.com
Sorry, I meant to say that I'm hosting LoveCat Sharon Archer from LoveCat DownUnder and there are some lighthouse photos as well!
ReplyDeleteRachel, I'm a lighthouse lover as well. Went to WA specifically to see the one where the two oceans meet. And I also have a lighthouse jigsaw puzzle fetish - if I see one, I have to buy it.
ReplyDeleteGabrielle, I just went and looked at that photo you gave the link for and it's stunning! Almost surreal. Thanks for sharing - I've bookmarked it. :)
ReplyDeleteNas, just had a quick squiz at your photos - they're great. Am off to bed now but will pop over again tomorrow and say hi to Sharon and have a better look at the photos. Thanks for indulging me by including them! :o)
ReplyDeleteFiona, I think you are the very first person I've ever met with a lighthouse jigsaw fetish! And you traveled to WA just to see one? You are a true lighthouse devotee. Ever thought about writing something in the Lighthouse Gothic style? ;)
ReplyDeleteRachel
ReplyDeleteI too love the thought of a lighthouse and over the years have read a few books that include a lighthouse and a great hero and heroine. I think for me the solitude of living in a lighthouse and looking out for ships and boats that may get into trouble on the seas I don't know but yes I agree that there is something wonderful about them.
I too have been to the lighthouse at Byron Bay so lovely to look at
Have Fun
Helen
Helen, you've been to the Byron lighthouse? How cool! I must plan another trip there.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, the solitude of living in a lighthouse would be great for a story (though, my hero and heroine are living next door in a luxury hotel :)). And the poignancy of spending your days looking out for a ship or boat in distress - just begging to the be setting for a story!