The grand old lady of the Angus coast has been given her annual once over.
Northern Lighthouse Board engineers have just returned from a nine-day spell on the Bell Rock, 11 miles off the coast of Arbroath.
They were there to carry out regular maintenance on the 213-year-old wonder of the industrial world.
And the four-strong NLB team shared images of the whitewashed structure – including its tiny circular kitchen.
NLB said the operation was part of the regular maintenance regime for all of their lighthouses.
The organisation currently operates and maintains 208 lighthouses across Scotland and the Isle of Man
Robert Stevenson’s creation is the world’s oldest operational sea-washed lighthouse.
But it has been fully automated for the past 35 years.
Summer conditions helped the engineers during their latest inspection.
Online admiration
Followers of the project on X, previously Twitter, said the structure was testament to the talent of Stevenson and his team.
One said: “Saw this and thought, that would be brilliant place to spend a few nights, so I googled some pics.
“One showing a wave hitting as high as the lighthouse sent a funny feeling running through me. Maybe just during the summer!”
Another added: When you see it like that and know where it is and what it took to build it, it really is a monument to the designer, the engineers who made it and the men who manned it.
“The teams that maintain the lights today are part of that great heritage – well done to them.”
Red Wheel recognition
Bell Rock towers 115-feet above the treacherous Inchcape reef.
Before it was built, the deadly rocks claimed around six ships every winter.
Stevenson was commissioned to build the beacon in 1799.
But the idea was almost sunk by rising costs.
The plan resurfaced in 1804 following the loss of HMS York and the 64-gun warship’s entire crew.
The tragedy only emerged when part of the ship began to wash up on the east coast.
Last September, a plaque was unveiled at the Bell Rock’s former shore station recognising its world-leading status.
The National Transport Trust plaque is at the entrance to what is now the Signal Tower museum.
John Boath, the lighthouse’s final principal keeper, was given the honour of unveiling the Red Wheel plaque.
