So what inspired our business name – “Fidra Home and Garden Services”? Choosing a business name is always tricky but we LOVE where we live. Dirleton Village is beside a beautiful beach Yellowcraigs and just off the beach is a bonnie wee island called “Fidra”.
We aren’t the only ones to be inspired by “Fidra” as the name can be found in several places in and around the North Berwick area. But most famously the Island of “Fidra” inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island as he played on Yellowcraigs as a child. Apparently the map of Treasure Island is modelled on Fidra!
One of “The Little Jewels” on the Firth of Forth, Fidra has had a lot going on. Apparently Robert Louis Stevens father Thomas and cousin David were the engineers that designed and engineered the lighthouse that was constructed on the island in the 1800s. There are remnants of previous structures including a chapel that was built in 1165, dedicated to St. Nicholas, and frequented by pilgrimages from monks from Drysburgh Abbey, as well as the Cistercian nuns from the local Convent at North Berwick. It is said that the Chapel may even have been a quarantine hospital for sick sailors and for people suffering plague. There is also part of a railway, why I don’t know...?! You will also find Castle Tarbet on Fidra - a pillar reaching 40 feet from the sea, with sheer drops on three sides.
So you can see the Island of Fidra (also known as Fetheray) has been the centre of inspiration and intrigue for thousands of years; as well as housing some extremely interesting construction. We wanted to link into something that is so special to the area and we are lucky enough to be able to see the lighthouse flashing in the night from our back garden.