The map in the background (Scotland, northern sheet) is from The royal atlas of modern geography, exhibiting, in a series of entirely original and authentic maps, the present condition of geographical discovery and research in the several countries, empires, and states of the world by Alexander Keith Johnston. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London. MDCCCLXI, one of the best world atlases of the second half of the 19th century. The map with hand-coloured boundaries and printed blue for water shows an amazing amount of detail. Distances are stated in miles, and heights in feet.

The lighthouse in Rua Reidh (Ru Rea on the map) was first proposed eight years before the atlas was published. However, the construction wasn't commenced until 1908.

Map image © Cartography Associates
I had no vacation for all too long and then simply not enough time. Now, it's almost half a year afterwards, and the week in the Rua Reidh lighthouse on Scotland's north-western coast finds, at last, its own chapter on these pages. The pictures about it are unfortunately too few and, I'm afraid, don't tell a great story; but they still remind me of the fresh wind in the mossy hills.
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