Barns Ness lighthouse is 37 metres (121 ft) high and was completed in 1901 but deactivated in 2005 and sold.  The dwelling where two lighthouse keepers once stayed can be hired although I don’t think the tower is accessible  and visitors can enjoy watching the waves crashing across the rocky foreshore or look out for birds.  The point is an important stopping off place for migrants and there were several birdwatchers with their powerful cameras probably looking for the Longtailed and Pomarine skuas and other comparatively rare birds that had been seen in recent days. I would not recognize them if I saw any but I think the flock of birds in the extra are Sanderlings which, like the skuas, are also visiting after breeding in the Arctic – a sign that summer is coming to an end.