Ardnamurchan Point

Ardnamurchan Point

Ardnamurchan Point across Eilean Chaluim Cille.
Ardnamurchan Point

 Ardnamurchan Point shown within Scotland
OS grid reference NM416674
List of places: UK • Scotland
Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
Location West coast of Mainland Scotland
Coordinates 56.726 N, 6.224 W
Year first lit 1849
Automated 1988
Construction Tower
Height 36m
Focal height 55m
Range 24 miles
Characteristic Flashing (2) White every 20 Secs

Ardnamurchan Point (Scottish Gaelic: Ard na Murchan, meaning 'the hill of the great sea') is an isolated peninsula with a lighthouse in Highland, Scotland.

Contents

Location

Ardnamurchan Point lies at the western end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi) north of Corrachadh Mòr, the most westerly point on the island of Great Britain, which is approximately 200 yards further to the west than the Point.[1] The nearest settlement is the small village, Achosnich.

The point lies seven miles south of the island of Muck, with Eigg and Rùm a few miles further to the north. Coll is situated nine miles to the west, and Mull is five miles south.

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is a 36 metre tall, pink granite tower lighthouse built in 1849 by Alan Stevenson.[2] It is the only lighthouse in the UK built in the Egyptian style.[3] The light was automated in 1988 and is now operated remotely by the Northern Lighthouse Board from Edinburgh.[2]

The former keepers' cottages and outbuildings are owned by the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust and operated as a visitor centre,[2][4] with a museum called the 'Kingdom of Light' - Rioghachd na Sorcha. Exhibits detail the history and operations of the lighthouse, including access to the restored engine room and workshop with the original fog horn. Other displays include the geology and natural history of the area, and local social history and culture.

The last part of the computer game Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened takes place in this lighthouse.

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Ardnamurchan Point". Undiscovered Scotland. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kilchoan/ardnamurchanpoint/index.html. Retrieved 18 September 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c "Ardnamurchan Lighthouse". Northern Lighthouse Board. http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/ardnamurchan.htm. Retrieved 18 September 2009. 
  3. ^ "Ardnamurchan Lighthouse". Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust. http://www.ardnamurchanlighthouse.com/lighthouse.html. Retrieved 18 September 2009. 
  4. ^ "Ardnamurchan Lighthouse". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst9929.html. Retrieved 18 September 2009. 

External links