An Arbroath restaurant named after the famous Bell Rock lighthouse will be cooking up a culinary storm to celebrate the bicentenary of Robert Stevenson’s masterpiece.
On February 1 it will be 200 years since the first Bell Rock Lighthouse first warned passing vessels of the reef lurking below the waves 11 miles out from Arbroath harbour.
Throughout next year the people of the town will be celebrating the anniversary.
The Bell Rock Restaurant in Arbroath is situated directly in line with the lighthouse and owner Azam Salimi said they have great plans to celebrate.
“During 2011, we’ll be featuring special Year of the Light-themed dishes on our menu,” said Azam. “I’m confident that the Year of the Light will bring more visitors to Arbroath which, in turn, will mean more customers at our restaurant.”
The programme of celebrations includes a firework display, a memorial service to those who have lost their lives on the Bell Rock over the centuries and a regatta. There will also be regular boat trips around the Bell Rock.
The members of the group overseeing the Year of the Light celebrations are also keen to hear how the Bell Rock’s namesakes are planning to celebrate this auspicious occasion.
“So far, we know of Bell Rock hotels, restaurants, cafes, insurance companies and software designers,” said Harry Simpson, chairman of Arbroath and Area Partnership’s Year of the Light steering committee, which is backed by the local community planning team.
“There’s even The Bell Rock Pub in Brazil, which has a sketch of the lighthouse as its eye-catching logo.”
In 2003 the BBC produced their series Seven Wonders of the Industrial World which featured the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The programme was shown in South and Latin America.
Resulting from that, a group of individuals from southern Brazil were so inspired that they decided to set up their own Bell Rock Pub in Porto Alegre, Brazil.