1814 Voyage of Walter Scott and Robert Stevenson around the lighthouses of Scotland

Stevenson became a friend of the writer Sir Walter Scott who was with him on a Commissioners' tour of lighthouses in 1814. It was on this trip that they inspected Kinnaird Head and later in 1824 it was proposed that Stevenson should upgrade Smith's original design. Walter Scott is thought to have persuaded Stevenson that the old castle tower at the site should be kept and that a new tower be built inside it so that the old tower was preserved. It is a good thing he did for this is the site that visitors see today, the only converted castle in Scotland.