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For former lighthouse keeper Neil Hargreaves, the job wasn't as melancholic as art would have us believe

For former lighthouse keeper Neil Hargreaves, the job wasn't as melancholic as art would have us believe (Neil Hargreaves) I t's 1976. Neil Hargreaves is 28 years old and already familiar with the rigours of isolation. He doesn't know that one day, millions of people will be in a situation similar to his. He doesn't know that making sourdough and exercising in front of a screen, 1984 style, will become the pinnacle of leisure. However, he knows the ache of being away from loved ones and the joy of finding a good book. As the former keeper of one of the UK's most remote lighthouses, his work has been a unique training ground for lockdown. Only with more elemental havoc. Twenty miles west of Marloes Peninsula lies the Smalls Reef, a volcanic bedrock ridge where tidal rapids generate violent rips. Being stationed here as a first-time keeper was like being a junior doctor during a global pandemic. It was the job at its most extreme. "At the Smalls, the sea could come right over the lighthouse. You would get a total blackout, then it would all wash down again and daylight would return. You would feel the lighthouse shudder, but it was built to last. I was more scared when I worked on the trawlers. The boat once rolled near Iceland and half of it was submerged in water. So, when it came to lockdown, I was sort of used to isolation. On tower rocks, you couldn't leave when the seas were washing over the landing," says Hargreaves. He spent two years at the rocky outpost, 28 days on, 28 days off. In preparation, he attended a six-week course that covered radio signals, first aid, weather reading and bread making. In 1772, 26-year-old violin maker Henry Whiteside was tasked with designing a lighthouse that would help mariners navigate around the Smalls. The appointment was not a success. Scottish lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenson later referred to Whiteside's beacon as "a raft of timber rudely put together". It weathered years of environmental beatings until it was replaced with a granite lighthouse in 1861, the second tallest in Wales. More about UKIsolationlighthouselighthousesCoronavirus Join our new commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies View comments 1/6What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation For former lighthouse keeper Neil Hargreaves, the job wasn't as melancholic as art would have us believe Neil Hargreaves What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation Hargreaves says lighthouse keeping was the best job he ever had Neil Hargreaves What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation Longships Lighthouse, off the coast of Land's End, captured from the helicopter before landing on the islet Neil Hargeaves What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation It was always Ian Duff's main ambition to man Skerryvore, where he was stationed for nearly five years Ian Duff What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation Hargreaves on the phone at Longships in 1987 - long-distance communication wasn't always easy at remote lighthouses Neil Hargreaves What the UK's last lighthouse keepers can teach us about isolation Duff in uniform in the mid-1980s Ian Duff Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Subscribe Already subscribed? Log in * Get in touch + Contact us + Jobs + * Our Products + Subscriptions + Newsletters + Donations + Install our apps + Archive * Other publications + International editions + Independent en Espanol + Independent Arabia + Independent Turkish + Independent Persian + Independent Urdu + Evening Standard + Novaya Gazeta * Extras + All topics + Voucher codes + Advertising guide + Syndication * Legal + Code of conduct and complaints + Contributors + Cookie policy + Donations Terms & Conditions + Privacy notice + User policies Log in [ ]Email address [ ]Password Email and password don't match [ ]Keep me logged in Submit Forgotten your password? New to The Independent? Register Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe to Independent Premium. View offers Hi {{fullName}} * My Independent Premium * Account details * Help centre * Logout