
Peter Gellatly is a lecturer in accounting and administration at the Coatbridge campus of New College Lanarkshire in Scotland. About 25 years ago he saw a lighthouse on his way to the Isle of Man, and he was mesmerized.
He has photographed many lighthouses on his travels over the years, and more recently he has built up a lighthouse memorabilia collection ranging from uniforms to a 19th-century oil painting, presentation salver, and embossed crockery reserved for the visits of lighthouse commissioners.


He has been loaning his collection of artifacts and photos to lighthouses around the U.K. for display, and he has also published a book called Following the Lights, a guide to visiting and staying at lighthouses in Scotland and the Isle of Man.
You can read more about Peter’s traveling exhibit and his book at www.followingthelights.com. Peter’s love for visiting, photographing, and researching lighthouses, and collecting memorabilia, is infectious, as you’ll hear in this interview.
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U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org
It’s good to see so many keeping this part of history alive, with several websites and Facebook groups dedicated to the subject of lighthouses and lightvessels/lightships around the world, I have a page on Facebook where i hope to try and find a photo of each of the Lightvessels used on the various stations around the UK
https://www.facebook.com/pg/lightvesselsandlightships
It’s a great page, Lyndon! Thank you for your post here, and thank you for helping to keep this very important history alive.
Thanks so much; Jeremy! Still remember the first time & me & Mary’s trip to the Portsmouth lighthouse… I loved when you asked that question! Why should we remember the lighthouse? … what I used to asked the children; when I was teaching them. Yeah; I was saying to myself. Have you ever been on a boat?…. I had to look up; England; and Scotland; and The Eddystone; and Bell Rock… Jeremy; thanks so much( if I’m allowed to say that) what could we give you that would help. Perhaps our attention. God Bless & say hi to Tim! Mike
Hi Mike – Thanks for the really nice note! And giving me your attention and encouragement is tremendously appreciated, believe me. 🙂