Negotiations started with the National Trust to get the lease for the NCI. With the help of John Chapple (one of our senior watchkeepers) who had holidayed at the Point prewar and Chris Trinnick who lived in the village.

The lookout in 1997

The NCI held an Inaugral Meeting of Prawle Point July 1997, and the group formed by the Autumn.

We had a group of dedicated people who started training and a decrepit building, whose roof was disappearing fast, in need of tender loving care, no equipment, no phone, no electricity and no heating.

Rayleigh International came for a weekend in Oct 97 and gave the lookout the first coat of paint. A cracked window was reglazed and it was cleaned out but the puddles got bigger.

The roof was replaced Feb 98. The whole place had to be rewired but luckily the mains cable was still in place to the Point and the telephone cable.

Lookout during replacement of roof

We held raffles and begged borrowed equipment so that we opened April 6th 1998 in time for Easter, after a quick lick and a paint.

Having solved the problem of how to convert it from 24v to 12v We had one VHF radio that worked (2 that didn't). I pair of borrowed iffy 8x40 binoculars. I reasonable pair of 20x80 binoculars bought by raffles. A rechargeable 12v battery and no electricity connected but we did have a phone. This battery was lugged up and down to the cottages to be recharged overnight.

3 weeks later we had electricity connected and bliss a heater

We have maintained a watch everyday since then.

The lookout from the SW 1999