Please read full logging requirements below before attempting to log this cache. Especially make sure you are looking at the correct lighthouse!
Lady's Rock is an uninhabited skerry that sits in the Firth of Lorne between Lismore Lighthouse and Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull. But who was the Lady that it is named after?
Lady Catherine Campbell was the wife of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean - 11th Chief of the Clan Maclean. It was not a loving relationship: rather it was a marriage of political convenience to secure a delicate truce between two rival clans.
Following an attempt by Catherine to poison her husband, Lachlan sought revenge by bundling her into a boat and dumping her upon a rock that was located little more than a mile from Duart Castle - the historic seat of the Maclean clan. The rock however is only visible at low tide. Next morning the Chief saw that the rock was empty, and sent a tearful message to her brother, the Earl of Argyll, that she had died from a terrible illness.
Unbeknown to Lachlan, Catherine had been rescued by a passing fishing boat, and was delivered safely back to her family home in Inverary. When subsequently summonsed by the Earl to Inverary, Lachlan was somewhat taken aback when his wife entered the room, clearly none the worse for her ordeal. He escaped to Edinburgh, where the Campbells eventually caught up with and murdered him.
Still known as Lady's Rock, the skerry is now marked by a small lighthouse as a warning to shipping.
Image ©: Sarah Kerr
To claim the cache: take a photo of yourself with Lady's Rock lighthouse in the background.
If you'd prefer not to show your face, then a piece of paper containing your geocaching name with the lighthouse in the background will do. There is no need to land on the rock, and to do so may be dangerous (just ask Catherine!) - but photos should be taken from a point within 500m. You will therefore require some sort of vessel: the choice of which is entirely yours*. Land-based photos (with or without a telephoto lens) will not be accepted. Photos of Lismore lighthouse will not be accepted either!
There is no need to message me - simply include the photo with your log. Logs without a qualifying photo will be deleted.
* Although not a logging requirement, I'd be interested to know how you got here.
For those interested in stats: this cache will show up as -30m on your elevation chart!
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.