Royal opening for revamped Sumburgh lighthouse
SHETLAND Amenity Trust’s multi million pound conversion of Sumburgh Head’s lighthouse received the royal seal of approval on Tuesday afternoon when Princess Anne carried out the official opening of the new visitor centre.
Visiting Shetland on a cold and wet spring day, The Princess Royal was welcomed by local Lord Lieutenant Bobby Hunter.
The princess was then shown around the renovated lighthouse buildings by trust vice chairman George Sutherland, while around 250 invited guests were left standing in the rain in cordoned off areas for an hour waiting for the official opening to begin.
She praised the amenity trust for the outstanding work it had done in preserving the historic buildings and making them available for future use.
The patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) added: “Can I congratulate the Shetland Amenity Trust particularly for taking on this site and coming up with such an innovative project.
“Speaking with my NLB hat on, it a pleasure to see the lighthouse and its environments kept as they were designed.”
Trust chairman Brian Gregson said the opening of the £5.4 million facility, which has been completed on time and within budget, was a historic day for Shetland.
He added: “We were very lucky to have royalty at the opening of the new museum eight years ago and it only seemed absolutely appropriate to invite royalty again for this next major venue the amenity trust is involved in.”
A review of the new visitor centre, which has been open since early May, can be found here.
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