Rare chance to become part-time lighthouse keeper to look after Kinnaird Head, Buchan Ness and Girdle Ness lights in Aberdeenshire for Northern Lighthouse Board

A new custodian is being sought for three of Scotland’s most distinctive coastal landmarks – lighthouses which date back up to almost 200 years.

The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) will launch a search on Wednesday for a retained lighthouse keeper to look after Kinnaird Head in Fraserburgh, Buchan Ness in Boddam and Girdle Ness, which guards Aberdeen Harbour, The Scotsman has learned.

Unusually, the rare vacancy has come up just six months after the board advertised for a retained keeper for Cape Wrath and Stoer lighthouses in Sutherland, which attracted more than 90 applicants. Such posts normally only arise every five to ten years.

The Aberdeenshire post has become available because the current retained keeper has retired after 40 years. Their successor will be required to visit each of the three lighthouses once a month, which take around eight hours for inspections and maintenance to ensure their equipment is working correctly, and to report any weather damage.

Buchan Ness lighthouse in Boddam was built in 1827. Picture: Northern Lighthouse Board

The NLB said retained keepers could also be called out to respond to faults as well as being asked to show visitors round the lighthouses from time to time. It said applicants must be physically fit, computer literate, have a driving licence and suitable vehicle, and live no more than 50 miles away from the lighthouses.

The starting salary for the part-time role is £3,686 a year pro rata. The successful candidate will be among 17 retained keepers who look after the board’s more accessible lighthouses. Its last resident lighthouse keeper left when automation was completed almost 25 years ago – at Fair Isle South in March 1998.

NLB chief executive Mike Bullock said: “Our retained lightkeepers (RLKs) are employed to check on the lights that are relatively easy to access, with duties including lens cleaning and general upkeep of the station.

"They are our eyes and ears within local communities and are often the first line of defence should there be an issue with the aid to navigation [light].

The new Kinnaird Head lighthouse, left, replaced the 1787 original beside it in 1991. Picture: Museum of Scottish Lighthouses

“With most of our RLKs serving at least a decade or two, and some as long as 40 or 50 years, the posts don’t come up very often, typically every five to ten years, so it’s quite rare to be advertising another RLK role so soon after the last one for Stoer Head and Cape Wrath.”

The 40m high (131ft) Buchan Ness lighthouse, south of Peterhead, was built in 1827 by Robert Stevenson, who was also responsible for 56m (184ft) Girdle Ness in 1833.

The 10m (33ft) Kinnaird Head lighthouse was established in 1991 to replace the original constructed in 1787 by Thomas Smith. It was the first to be built on mainland Scotland by the NLB and is now part of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses.

Barry Miller, one of the board’s other retained keepers, has described it as “close to a dream job”. The Stranraer-based former school teacher, who has looked after seven lighthouses in south west Scotland for 20 years, told The Scotsman last year he loved visiting them best “in a howling gale”.

Girdle Ness lighthouse, south of Aberdeen Harbour, was built in 1833. Picture: Northern Lighthouse Board

He said: “You hear all sorts of howls and screams from the wind. It’s very atmospheric. People think lighthouses now operate all on their own, but we have to do various checks to ensure everything is working properly.”