A new lighthouse shines out as a “beacon of hope and happiness” welcoming visitors to a picturesque north-east campsite.
Co-owner of Sandend Holidays John Anderson successfully secured a Clan lighthouse at the auction held last November.
The 67-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer and spent around four months in hospital last year.
He explained Clan supported his partner Sally Robertson during that time by giving her a place where she could speak to others who understood what she was going through.
When he left the hospital around October time they saw the Light the North Trail and thought the lighthouses were “marvellous”.
The campsite owner decided to bid on one of the artworks and chose the design created by Suzanne Scott called Puffin’s Playground, and was “lucky enough to be successful”.
‘You promised me a puffin’
He explained: “Before this, we’d developed a bit of a thing between us and I’d promised to show her a puffin, we went up to Shetland and up to Unst when puffins were there – and we didn’t see a single puffin.
“So there was always this thing of ‘you promised me a puffin’.
“It seemed like a nice way to give something back to Clan and also to give Sally a puffin.”
A plaque explaining the lighthouse was unveiled by Mr Anderson, alongside the sculpture’s creator Suzanne Scott and charity development manager for Clan Ruth MacIntosh on Wednesday.
The couple have now put a light in the structure, meaning it lights up the campsite in the evenings.
“We always say it’s not a lighthouse that warns people away,” Mr Anderson added. “It’s a lighthouse that welcomes people to a place of happiness and healing.
“Sandend is quite a magical place and there are a lot of people that come here to heal, both mentally and physically.
“All of our clients who have been here really love it.”
The Light the North sculptures raised £324,200 for Clan cancer support at the auction last year.
