Longstone - Original Writing

1140 Words3 Pages

Longstone - Original Writing

The wind howled and huge waves struck the break water at Seahouses

harbour. The small fisherman’s cottages that made up most of the

coastal village shook with each onslaught from the vicious storm. Most

of the men of the village had gone for the safety of their local pub,

Ye Olde Ship, to wait out the storm.

However, no one touched their drink now, as the patrons of Ye Olde

Ship were staring out of the harbour side window and over the stormy

sea. There loomed the Farne Island. Normally a place of ill-repute,

avoided by local fishermen and regarded with fear, today it looked

doubly threatening. Ten foot waves pounded the cliff face of the north

side and lightening flashed above. The rocks clawed at the sky, hungry

for the blood of sailors. Many lives had been lost around the Farne

Island, there were countless submerged rocks and dangerous currents

waiting to catch the unwary and carry them to a watery grave.

But that was not what was commanding the attention of the men in the

tavern. No it was Longstone lighthouse sitting upon the Farne Island

that was so captivating. Tall and imposing it was a lifeline to those

daring and foolhardy enough to try and navigate the dangerous waters

surrounding the Island. The light was preserved by the three

lighthouse keepers who lived on the island; they performed any

necessary repairs and generally maintained the light. However

Longstone was not performing its duty. It was pointed directly at

Seahouses and flashing out a message in the code used by the

lighthouse keepers: Help us! Then quite suddenly the light died.

George Shiel was not a happy man, being dragge...

... middle of paper ...

...st be lit or we’ll be drowning the next ship that

comes this way!”

“Fine, just telling yer lad, if you want to go there’s nothing

stopping wer!”

They stumbled up the over-grown path leading to the lighthouse. To the

south George could just make out the silhouette of the small chapel

where Saint Cuthbert spent the last of his days as a hermit and before

them, perched on top of the north cliff, lay the lighthouse itself.

The whiteness of the lighthouse struck the eye, as it was in stark

contrast to the darkness of the cloud surrounding it. It consisted of

a ground level square building which was where the keepers ate and

slept and there was the tower, rising out of the middle of it, tall

and imposing, almost in salute to the very skies above it. Even in

this poor light, George could see the outer door was ajar.

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