North Berwick want to kidnap Stevenson’s history with statue

By Michael MacLeod

SEASIDERS from a Scots town want to honour Robert Louis Stevenson with a statue – because he went there on holiday as a child.

The world-famous writer was born in Edinburgh and has various memorials across the city.

But locals in North Berwick are keen to commemorate the fact he holidayed there as a child.

They hope to drive up tourism in the East Lothian town by highlighting the belief it inspired his classic 1886 novel, Kidnapped.

Major repair work to Scotland’s lighthouses

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE

MAJOR REPAIR work to Scotland’s lighthouses is to begin with the oldest rock-based structure in the British Isles later this year.

The Northern Lighthouse Board is seeking contractors with a head for heights to carry out work on some the country’s most remote buildings.

And the first lighthouse to be given a makeover is the 200 year-old Bell Rock, situated 12 miles off the Angus coast.

The work will pose many challenges for tradesmen because of its, remote location, dangerous tidal conditions and isolation.