Ailsa Craig Lighthouse

The Ailsa Craig Lighthouse, is an active 19th century lighthouse located on Ailsa Craig, an island in the Firth of Clyde, just offshore from Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland.

Ailsa Craig Lighthouse
Ailsa Craig Lighthouse
Map
LocationAilsa Craig
Firth of Clyde
Scotland
OS gridNX 0252199706
Coordinates55°15′07″N 5°06′30″W / 55.251898°N 5.108413°W / 55.251898; -5.108413
Tower
Constructed1886
Built byThomas Stevenson, David Alan Stevenson Edit this on Wikidata
Constructionmasonry tower
Automated1990
Height11 metres (36 ft)
Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to 1-storey keeper's house
Markingswhite tower and lantern
Power sourcesolar power Edit this on Wikidata
OperatorNorthern Lighthouse Board[1] [2]
Heritagecategory B listed building Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit15 June 1886 Edit this on Wikidata
Focal height18 metres (59 ft)
Range17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 4s.

History

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Detail of the tower

It was completed in 1886, the construction being overseen by Thomas and David Alan Stevenson.

Initially, the lighthouse used oil-burning lamps, but by 1911, these were replaced with incandescent lighting.

Fog signals were discontinued in 1987. Then, in 1990, the lighthouse was automated, and a refurbishment took place in 2001, when it was converted to run on solar power.

Ailsa Craig is also known as "Paddy's Mile Stone" as it lies halfway between the cities of Glasgow and Belfast. As well as being a local landmark and a well known marine navigational hazard the island is a protected bird sanctuary, sheltering thousands of breeding pairs of sea birds. Other wild life found on and around the island are a colony of grey seals as well as the occasional whale, and more commonly large basking sharks during the summer months. The basking shark is a large but harmless shark: it can often be seen from boats feeding at the surface on the planktonic bloom which grows in great abundance around the British Isles during the warmer months.

In June 2018 the former lighthouse keepers' cottages, now derelict, were placed for sale by auction.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southwestern Scotland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. ^ Ailsa Craig Lighthouse Northern Lighthouse Board.Retrieved 8 May 2016
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