Ushenish

Ushenish is a headland on the remote east coast of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.[1] There has been a lighthouse on the headland since 1857.[2]

Lighthouse

Ushenish Lighthouse
Ushenish Light
Location South Uist, Scotland
Coordinates
Year first lit 1857
Automated 1980
Construction White tower
Height 12 metres (39 ft)
Focal height 54 metres (177 ft)
Range 19 nautical miles
Characteristic Fl. W/R 20sec

The light was designed by engineers, David and Thomas Stevenson. Established in 1857, it incorporated a new 'condensing' apparatus developed by Thomas Stevenson as an improvement to the dioptric system. The lighthouse was automated in 1970, one of the first major automatic lights. The gas-operated Dalen beacon was monitored from Neist Point Lighthouse, on Skye.[3]

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Overview of Ushenish". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst5985.html. Retrieved 16 January 2011. 
  2. ^ "Ushenish Lighthouse". Northern Lighthouse Board. http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Ushenish/. Retrieved 16 January 2011. 
  3. ^ "South Uist, Ushenish Lighthouse". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/172200/details/south+uist+ushenish+lighthouse/. Retrieved 16 January 2011.