Scalpsie Bay searchlight?

JumbleDuck

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We spent Saturday night anchored in Scalpsie Bay on the west coat of Bute, taking advantage of the easterlies to visit. About 2am I woke up and had a look around. All was as I expected, expect for a spectacularly powerful beam of light about 6' in diameter at the base, going up from Ardscalpsie Farm and lighting a huge circular patch in the clouds about 1,000' up. A couple of hours later I woke again and it was still there, although the clouds it lit were now lower.

Has anyone else seen this? I can't see why they would want to shine a spotlight straight up unless to signal to spies ("Tintin and the Dark Island"), summon superhero help ("Quick. To the bat light!") or mark a safe landing place for aliens from Planet Zog.

Google suggests that it's holiday accommodation with a hot tub, which might be circular, outdoors and illuminated, but I find it hard to imagine a hot tub lit that brightly.
 

penberth3

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Not a weather station? Some people get paid to shine lights at clouds, although not with 6' diameter lamps.
 

JumbleDuck

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Not a weather station? Some people get paid to shine lights at clouds, although not with 6' diameter lamps.
I wondered about that, but it was the sheer size of the beam which confounded me. Of course I may have been dazed and confused in the small hours, but it really did seem to be a very broad, very bright beam and it lit a very large patch of cloud.

I suppose, of course, that it could have been a tractor beam from a UFO concealed in the clouds and that the happy holidaymakers are now walking around with a confused memory of Saturday night and rather sore lower parts. A fairly standard Glaswegian weekend away, basically.
 
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Perhaps some tribute to the Battle of Britain. I have seen a few of these big spot lights about over the years.
 
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