Skerryvore Lighthouse

A lavishly illustrated history of the iconic Skerryvore Lighthouse. Which is still active as an automatic lighthouse.

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‘It will be a most desolate position for a lighthouse – the Bell Rock and Eddystone a joke to it.’
- Sir Walter Scott, 1814

Skerryvore is one of the giants of Scottish Lighthouses, renowned as being one of the most beautiful and perfect structures in the world. At 156 feet it remains the tallest lighthouse in Scotland, a fact all the more brilliant when its position – some 12 miles offshore from the remote island of Tiree – is considered. Built over a six-year period, engineer Alan Stevenson constantly battled the brutal West Coast conditions to see his masterpiece rise into the sky and finally lit in 1844.

For the next 150 years this perfect structure provided imperfect living, playing host to the men forced to make it their temporary home from home and keep their watch over the treacherous reef for the ‘Safety of All’. Skerryvore, still active as an automatic lighthouse, is a testament to engineering and human endeavour over the centuries as it is fought and won against the elements – wind, water and even fire – to remain standing today.