Neist Point

Neist Point is a popular viewpoint on the most westerly point of Skye. It has had a lighthouse since 1909.

Neist Point Lighthouse
Neist Point Lighthouse
Location Skye
Coordinates
Year first lit 1909
Automated 1990
Construction White tower
Height 19 metres (62 ft)
Focal height 43 metres (141 ft)
Intensity 480,000 candlepower[1]
Range 16 nautical miles
Characteristic Fl. W 5 sec

Contents

Geography

Neist Point is the most westerly point on the Duirinish peninsula on the Isle of Skye.[1] It projects into The Minch and provides a popular walk and viewpoint.[2]

Natural history

Basalt at Neist Point is very similar to that at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.[1] A steep path leads down from the road.

It is a good place to see whales, dolphins, porpoises and basking shark. Common sea-birds include Gannets, Black Guillemots, Razorbills and European Shags. Several rare plants, including saxifrages are found on the point.

Lighthouse

Neist Point Lighthouse, designed by David Alan Stevenson, was first lit on 1 November 1909.[3] An aerial cableway is used to take supplies to the lighthouse and cottages.

Since 1990, the lighthouse has been operated remotely from the Northern Lighthouse Board headquarters in Edinburgh. The former keepers' cottages are now in private ownership.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Andrew Stables. "Neist Point and Lighthouse". http://www.glendaleskye.com/neistpoint.htm. Retrieved 15 January 2011. 
  2. ^ "Neist Point". Skye Guide. http://www.theskyeguide.com/walking-mainmenu-32/14-strolls/132-neist-point. Retrieved 15 January 2011. 
  3. ^ "Neist Point Lighthouse". Northern Lighthouse Board. http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Neist-Point/. Retrieved 15 January 2011.