Gateway to the Firth of Tay, the Fife town of Tayport has a long maritime history stretching back to the 12th century when its ferry conveyed pilgrims travelling from St Andrews to Arbroath Abbey across the river.
It has also played a vital role in aiding safe passage up the estuary, thanks to its trio of lighthouses, two of which occupy the shoreline, while the third, rather more inaccessible and unusual, sits out in the water.
The 52 foot high Pile Lighthouse was erected in the river in 1848 to replace the on-shore East Lighthouse. Designed and built by Fife-born civil engineer James Leslie, a square timber-framed box structure was mounted on wooden stilts, the lantern sitting on top. Piles – from which it takes its name – driven deep into the muddy riverbed held the who thing securely in place. Access was by boat and ladders attached to the stilts. It is understood that the light was manned by keepers based at Tayport’s West Lighthouse who each spent a week at a time out on the beacon.
The lighthouse, marked on charts as the Larick Scalp Beacon, not only warned shipping of potentially dangerous sandbanks but also delineated the channel leading into Tayport harbour.
Abandoned in 1960, it remains a quirky wee feature of the Tay Estuary, now home to gulls and a spot where dolphins are frequently spotted. It is also one of a dwindling number of surviving pile lighthouses in British coastal waters.
Secret Scotland 
James – re the Pile Light at Tayport – As a boy I lived in Tayport from 1958 to 1970. Our house overlooked the estuary and for the first few years – I think into the ’60s the Pile Light was still manned. The two keepers who lived at the West Lights were taken out each evening by the third keeper who I believed worked the night shift at that light house, and picked up again each morning. Although the Pile had a couple of bunks it was not manned at that time on a 24 hour basis. In addition to the light there was also a fog bell which I think had to be tolled manually. After its abandonment I would occasionally fish from the Pile – then occupied by dozens of pigeons – I managed to rescue some of the nightly log books and gave them to a relative of one of the last keepers.
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