Sunday, September 4, 2016

Ravedy Island


After spending more time than I had bargained for at Fanad, I had to adjust my plans slightly with regards the light on Ravedy Island. Although not a lighthouse worthy of inclusion in the Lighthouse Directory, nevertheless it seemed a large enough structure to merit inclusion in the blog. Therefore I drove west along the beautiful coast from Fanad until I reached a T-Junction. The main road went right but left led to Ballywhoriskey (not signposted) from where I had previously read, I might be able to catch a distance glimpse of Ravedy without a long trek down to Mulroy and up the other side of the peninsula to a caravan park and then a walk from there. Actually the walk comes across as quite exciting - don't attempt it in stormy weather, only cross the bridge at the bottom of a steep flight of steps at low tide etc, etc  - but the day was running away on me.


There were a handful of people at Ballywhoriskey on the beach or on the rocks. Road a bit pot-holed but nothing too major. Eventually I managed to get a straight shot. There is a small island between Ballywhoriskey and Ravedy which I had to drive past.


The satnav position of the light is  55° 15.1´ N 7° 46.9´ W , though the road won't get you that far. It is a concrete tower, some 15 feet tall and sitting 30 feet above sea level. It flashes white once every three seconds, visible for 3 nautical miles. There was a Dail question in February 1956 about placing a beacon on Ravedy Island to safeguard the shipping entering Mulroy Bay and the reply was that one would be erected by the summer of that year. 



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