Rattray Head Lighthouse

Rattray Head is a wild headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, where Strathbeg Bay meets Rattray Bay. The land juts into the North Sea, guarded by dunes that rise up to twenty-three metres. These dunes stretch along seventeen miles of shoreline from St Combs to Peterhead. The place has always been known as Rattray Point, though it is now called Rattray Head. The surrounding Buchan countryside is flat and windswept, with few trees and wide horizons. Only the lighthouse breaks the skyline above the dunes. The lighthouse was built in 1895 by the Stevenson brothers, David Alan and Charles Alexander. At thirty-seven metres tall, it guided ships along this dangerous coast until 1982, when it became automatic. A narrow causeway links the mainland to the tower, but the path only appears when the tide is low. Several wrecks lie half-buried in the sand, reminders of the sea’s power. The beach itself is reached by a rough track cut deep with ruts and potholes, needing high ground clearance to pass. Visitors walk through shifting sand dunes before reaching the car park near the beach. The wind shapes the dunes into ridges and hollows, some as high as the lighthouse. From the top of the dunes the sea stretches to the horizon, grey and restless. The lighthouse stands alone, its white tower contrasting with the dark rocks below. On clear days the view reaches far along the coast, from Peterhead in the south to the distant hills of Caithness.