Scotland’s lighthouses star in new book

AN ARTIST and author has spent the past five years drawing illustrations of more than 350 lighthouses surrounding Britain and Ireland.

Roger O’Reilly will release a book early next year, and is already selling prints online.

All Scotland’s lights are included in the project, including famous sites such as Bell Rock and Eilean Mór.

His “Lighthouses of Britain” book follows on from a similar project in Ireland, which was named “Irish book of the year” in 2018.

“I grew up near the mouth of the River Boyne, on Ireland’s east coast – a few minutes from my door were three unusual estuarine lighthouses perched among the sand dunes,” he explained.

“Drogheda North, East and West lights were truncated structures that stood like daleks on stilts, gazing forlornly out to sea and only coming to life as the dusk crept in.

“I didn’t realise it at the time, but they imprinted in me a deep-seated love of lighthouses and all that they represent.”

Many of his pictures of the lighthouses are inspired by the Art Deco railway posters that were popular during the 1930s.

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