A fatal accident is waiting to happen if nothing is done to improve safety at a popular tourist attraction in the Western Isles, it has been claimed.
Thousands come each year to find no handrails or warning notices. Tourists in this party went close to the edge but admitted afterwards they were “very surprised” there were no safety features. They compared it to Land’s End which has warning notices and handrails.
It follows a frightening incident recently where an elderly tourist visiting the Butt of Lewis lighthouse suddenly met a flock of sheep on its narrow cliffside path causing her to overbalance and stumble.
Thankfully, the woman fell towards the boundary wall of the 160-foot lighthouse but could have plunged 60 feet into jagged rocks if she had stumbled the other way.
Local councillor Iain Morrison, who is also an island coach operator, says something must be done now before the worst happens.
Speaking as he took yet another party of tourists to the lighthouse, he said the recent incident was a wake-up call for him and many people.
Councillor Morrison
Visitors can go right up to the edge and there is nothing to hold on to if someone is caught by the wind or is startled, as the recent tourist was, by suddenly meeting the sheep on the path. It is an incredibly sheer drop and few would survive it.
Cllr Morrison said he had already negotiated with the education department to get the former railings from the former buildings of the Stornoway secondary school, the Nicolson Institute, which are now to be demolished following the opening of the new building.
He said: “The problem is who will assume responsibility. The council does not want it and I can understand why. They would then be under pressure to assume responsibility for the safety of many other sites and the costs could be prohibitive.”
The recent incident with the tourist had been very frightening and he said he himself had also recently seen a mother with a child peering over the sheer cliff – something he called “foolish” and “heart-stopping”.
Some peer right over the cliffs
The councillor is working to establish who actually owns the land by the cliff and he is currently making inquiries with local public landowner The Galson Trust and the light operator, the Northern Lighthouse Board.
Now an automated light, the buildings also house a marine radio station which provides weather and radiotelephone communication to vessels in the North Minch area.
The Butt of Lewis, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is regularly the windiest spot in the United Kingdom.
One feature which used to startle visitors to the area was the extremely fog horn. However, it was dismantled in March 1995.
There are thought to be nearly 50 years since the last fatal cliff fall at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse which was designed and built in 1862 by David Stevenson, then an engineer for the Northern Lighthouse Board.
OMG! 50 years since the last fatal accident there! Close off the area get high railings erected, make sure all visitors are securely attached to ropes and kept in the buses. What a total non-story. People always take risks. If in so doing they win a Darwin Award, then so mote it be. Bigger, more important things for the Council & Councillors to be dealing with.
I fully understand the problem, but there are numerous scenic sights across the island which are equally dangerous. In fact this problem exists across the UK. To fence these areas would cost a fortune and when you look at the school bus and teacher issue we are struggling financialy as it is.
As usual the attitude of the previous coments show that nothing will be done on Lewis until someone dies. Good on the bus man for trying though.
Peggy,
Where do we stop? Do we fence off all the cliff tops in the islands? do we ban canoes? Do we close swimming pools because people drown? Do we ban cars because people crash? Do we ban Planes because they fall out the sky? Do we ban ships because they sink? People have to accept that they are responsible for their own safety. Perhaps we need to ban bicycles too?
Edward , this is a listed tourist attraction . What is wrong with you ??
Nothing at all. Where do you draw the line at protecting Joe Public? There are many recognised walks along the cliff edges. So if it’s not a registered tourist attraction then safety doesn’t matter? Ben Nevis is a tourist attraction, on your logic people should be fenced in etc. etc. etc. More people die there than at the Lighthouse. People have to take responsibility for their own safety. As an aside, go up the Scott Monument in Edinburgh. Rope on one side only people having to pass each other on very narrow steep stairs. I don’t hear the namby pambies going on about it. More important things for the Council to be doing.
Must they go so close to the edge ? I certanly wouldn’t …!!! there are many tourist sites that are dangersous if we become blase about the dangers
I agree with Edward where does one stop … leaning over parts of the Ferry decks in widy weather can be equally dangerous if one is feeding the fish
IMHO please don’t go so close to the edge ….
Peggy our children are going to have to walk in the dark without pavements, gritted roads in bad weather because Iain Morrison voted for it. The councillors tell us the have no money, Iain Morrisony is one of them.
Possibly he should use his £7K ward money to build a fence.
If D.C. and the other pathetic people who failed to read the story properly had a brain they would see that money is not the issue any more. The old Nicolson railings have already been given. The remaining issues are all about red tape and who actually owns the land. I hope it will be sorted soon and Mr Morrison is indeed to be praised for actually doing something about it. He could have ignored it like his colleagues did for so long. It is disturbing to learn how some of our fellow islanders seem to care so little for avoiding preventable accidents and tragedies. I include some of the people who comment here and some of our other useless councillors.
As pointed out already, where do you draw the line? Health and Safety can be taken to extremes, like, for example, stopping community skips as they may be dangerous to children who chose to climb into them.
If we do decide to go to extremes then that would mean fencing off just about every bit of open ground all over the island: people might slip on wet grass, fall into peat bogs, fall off cliffs, slip on icy roads which don’t have pavements (or even slip on icy pavements), fall from rocks they have climbed (even the rocks at the ferry terminal) etc. etc. Then, of course, we have to issue everyone with armoured clothing, crash helmets, heavy gloves and the like, and pass laws stating that they must be worn at all times when outside of their houses. The next stage, as suggested above, is to ban all motor vehicles, pushbikes, children’s scooters etc. From there we have to ban electricity (a lot more than one person in fifty years get killed by electricity), any form of construction work (even DIY), household fires, and just about everything else you can think of.
Alternately, we have to assume that life is full of little risks which, if we are to lead normal lives, we have to accept. The way to minimize such risks is to use common sense (and parental control in the case of children), and get on with life. Nor can we afford to mollycoddle people who choose to take risks, like, for example, people who go mountain climbing.
If councillor Morrison wishes to get permission from the landowners to put up fencing (using his ward money), then fine. However, he should remember that the owners, whoever they may be, are liable to think that by allowing such fencing they are admitting that the area is dangerous, especially for people who refuse to use common sense, thus making themselves liable for any damages. They then may decide to just fence off the whole area and ban everyone from going near it. That won’t help his coach tourist business.
In any event, in the real world, it is up to each individual to use common sense in the things that they do, and stop trying to blame someone else for any problems they may encounter; especially in this litigious day and age where the idea seems to be to blame others for self-inflicted shortcomings, and sue them.
IMHO I would think Galson Estates on the land ..not that difficult to confirm that surely … I am led to believe that the walled area which holds the Lighthouse Buildings belong to the Northern Lighthouse board …
3 councillors to each area Hmmmm one frequents the area with a tour bus lets see now ..tra la la …
Why are visitors to the area allowed to go so close to those dangerous gnice rocks ? most tour buses have a guide provided by their holiday company or coach tour operator so should have been suitably advised on the dangers ..
As we can see from the photos kindly included by our own Ian X those particular visitors stood rather close to a very wild & very unpredicable rocks …
None of the replies were pathetic – everyone has an opinion and entitled to it … end off *-*
To call someone pathetic for having a different view is a sad reflection on the person calling others names. It is a very emotional reaction where true thought is missing.
It is good that Iain Morrison has obtained the railings for this purpose. Unfortunately there is more to this than just erecting the fence. It has to be done professionally which will be costly. Will those who own the land be happy to have the fence. The footpath will also have to be in good condition. When do we stop fencing the coastline ? when we have a fence covering all of the UK coastline. Do we fence every inland cliff as well ? Do we admit liability by erecting a fence ? What happens when we find people climbing over the fence ? do we make it higher ? How do we pay for this ? Who will be responsible for ensuring the fence is in good condition everyday. Who will maintain the fence ? Who will be pay for the maintenance. Once you erect the fence you have accountability for it, this includes people ripping clothing etc. These are just a few small considerations which need to be taken into account.
I’m not against health and safety, in fact I’m very much for it. I also believe that we need to take responsibilty for our own actions. A person has to know their own abilities and capabilities. This includes whether they are fit enough for the task they wish to do.
Excellent comment DC … my sentiments exactly ..where do we stop ..do we fence of Port of Ness Harbour /Quay too ? frequented so often by tourists children on bikes etc etc ….. and so it would go on
We have council leader telling us there is little money for basics …
how can we fence off all the tourist attractions and maintain them throughout the western Isles …
Ruairidh, You miss the issue. We put up railings where there hasn’t been a fatal accident for 50 years. Do we therefore put up railings where people have fallen over the edge? Dunnet head is walled off and people still go over the wall to get a better look. How high and how far from the edge do we put it? Certain things in life are dangrous (more dangerous than going to the light house). Should we not deal with the more dangerous things first?
People are entitled to differing views. An argument is a reasoned debate with an exchange of views. Calling people names is childish in the very least and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the arguments.
The path around the lighthouse is very very narrow. Since the accident 50 years ago, Luckily no one has had a accident, In recent times more tourists and local residents are going to see the place, would it not be better to make THAT particular path safer? I don’t think the councillor is wanting to fence the coastline! rather just that particular path around the lighthouse! One has to see the path to understand how dangerous it is. The fencing of this path would not cost more than a couple of thousand pounds. Would it not be better to spend this money, to prevent just one accident? All else failling financially, the four councillors for An Taobh Siar Agus Nis should use their personal ward fund to make sure this path has a safer route.
I recall the railings around the town harbour were put up years ago after a fatality. For action to be taken, do we have to wait for a fatality here too? .
Sometimes it is better to be pro-active rather than be negative. How much is the government spending on the A9? A few bilion! And that was a after a few dozen fatalities.
The death tool on the A9 is somewhat higher than a few dozen over the last 50 years. The main argument for upgrading the A9 is an economic one with some safety benefits thrown in. OK, so the path is bad, do we also fence off where people have recently fallen? Do we fence off the Clisham tp stop people walking up there? At what stage do we take the view that CBA is worth doing? There are fences around tuimpian head. One still sees people climbing over them.
I think the intention to fence off the cliff in principle is a good idea. The practical implications bring it seriouslt into question. If someone wants to privately erect a fence with the land owners permissin and the legislative points are all covered, there is no reason for it not to go ahead. I don’t think the council can become involved in this economic climate.
Unfortunately putting up a fence is not the end of the problem. Somebody then has to be responsible for maintaining the fence, which has implications into the future. Then, does the presence of the fence encourage people to go and lean on the fence, or sit on it to enjoy the view? Will children climb on it, whilst their parents are lulled into complacency. “Oh well, it must be safe because there’s a fence to make it safe.” Then, as others have said, where do you stop? Must we fence all of the cliffs, and maintain all the fences? It would be wonderful to think we could prevent all danger, but sadly we can’t. I cannot help but feel that the safest strategy would be for the operator of the tour bus to issue a very clear warning about the danger to passengers. Otherwise I’m afraid we’re all responsible for our own safety, and as responsible adults for our children’s safety if we choose to take them there.
Is Cllr Morrison not very cleverly passing the buck – His speciality?
Having said that for the benefit of people who do not appreciate the danger of sea clifs etc at the very least there ought to be Warning Notices at the Butt. Personally I would not walk along the very narrow “path” between the Lighthouse and the cliff edge and if I had any responsibility (i.e liability) for it I would simply block it off and make it inaccessible. Fencing off this narrow path prone to errosion would not improve its actual safety.
I can also understand the Comhairle’s reluctance to get involved if this is indeed an area outwith their remit, nor should it spend rate payers money on something for which it is not responsible.
I think the warning signs are a good idea.
Tell the numpties to use their common sense!!
A warning sign and a dose of common sense is all that is required there.