Lighthouse Beacons from Scotland
Corsewall Point Lighthouse
Photo by wfmillar via Wikimedia
Guarding the northern tip of the Galloway peninsula where Loch Ryan and the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland meet is Corsewall Point Lighthouse. Its beacon has a nominal range of 18 miles and protects the Irish Ferries sailing between Stranraer and Cairnryan in Scotland to Larne and Douglas in Ireland.
As early as 1814, an application was made for a lighthouse on Corsill Point and in 1815 decided that a light at the entrance of Lochryan. It was built in 1817 near Kirkcolm a small village near Stranraer. Robert Stevenson was the engineer and the design included a round tower of 34 meters with the keeper's houses detached from the tower so that dust from domestic fires would not injure the apparatus.
In November 1970, Concorde flew over the lighthouse on a trial flight and quite a number of panes of glass were broken. Since then, Concorde has frequently passed overhead but no further damage has been reported.
Corsewall Lighthouse was automated in 1994 and is now remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board’s offices in Edinburgh. The former Lightkeepers accommodation was sold and is now operated as the Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel. The hotel Web site gives a virtual tour of the building.
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