A Visit to Sumburgh Head Lighthouse

On a grey but bright Thursday Me (Ella) Oliver and Sophie who’s with us this week at J&S for Work Experience took a trip down to the very tip of the mainland of Shetland to Sumburgh Head. The reason for our visit was to see in place the carpets we have supplied the brand new Sumburgh Head Lighthouse Visitor Centre.  As well as seeing the carpets we got a great tour of the whole place from Angela Hunt, the Operations Manager.

The Sumburgh Head Lighthouse was designed by world famous lighthouse designer and engineer Robert Stevenson, the lighthouse was constructed in 1821. Over 150 years Stevenson and his descendants designed most of Scotland’s Lighthouses, 7 in total in Shetland. in fact the Fair Isle South Lighthouse, designed by the Stevensons was only automated in 1998, the last  Scottish lighthouse to be manned.

Over the past two years the Lighthouse has undergone a £5.4 million revamp by the Shetland Amenity Trust and we are so proud to provide the 100% Shetland Wool carpets and mats for the brand new Education Room and in the accommodation within the Lighthouse.

We began our tour in the Education Room which provides a panoramic view of the South End of Shetland. When we arrived they were setting up for a school visit and it was great to see.

The Education will host School Groups and Tourist in the Summer months and Angela told us about plans for different classes to be held in the room in off peak season, and how it can be hired for private functions. Imagine the sunsets!

The carpet looked really great. We worked with our Carpet Layer Robin of Nort Trow flooring and he made a really fantastic job. Derek who usually can be found in the Woolstore went down to give Robin a hand in laying them.

We then moved onto the accommodation, which can be let by anyone. You can find more information about staying in lighthouses in Shetland here.

The buildings have been carefully restored and sensitively decorated. Our carpets were featured again in the impressive staircase

We hand-finished a lot of mats for the sides of beds, these were made from the off cuts of the carpets. Nothing is wasted! The building is floored in beautiful stone floors and having a wool mat at the side of the bed really warms up the room (and your toes!)

We also have a number of our 3 Sheep Logo mats, a few of which were hand finished by Jan who works in the Woolstore

And there is one lovely large 3 Sheep Mat in the Living Room which really makes a great centrepiece.

A really lovely place to stay!

We then went through all aspects of the visitors centre, which covers everything from being a lighthouse keeper to the nature all around Sumburgh Head.

One of the most interesting areas to me was the Radar Hut which highlights the role of Shetland and Sumburgh Head during World War Two. They have recreated how the hut would have looked in the War

The engine room has been carefully updated and gives you a timeline of the history of the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse

Of course we had to climb the steps around the freshly painted Fog Horn and see the view..

And we had our eye out for Sumburgh’s most famous residents..

Lovely Puffins! Luckily Oliver had his big fancy lens so we got some great photos!

It was so brilliant to see the Visitors Centre open and see how many Tourists were around, we are so proud and happy to have a small part in it.

Thank you to Angela for showing us around, we had a great morning!

Speak soon and happy knitting,

xx