Arbroath to visit the .....

Signal Tower Museum.

This was the communication link with the Bell Rock Lighthouse which was 11 miles off the Angus coast and therefore over the horizon, hence the need for a tower.

The lighthouse was a hugely ambitious and dangerous endeavour. The keepers were stationed there for 4 weeks and, if weather permitted, taken off for 4 weeks. The sea crossing was hazardous and keepers were not allowed off before the end of their stint even if their wives were giving birth. Instead the message was relayed by hoisting a pair of trousers or a dress up the flagpole. It is not recorded whether there was ever a need to hoist, say, two pairs of trousers and a dress.