Skerryvore Lighthouse

Skerryvore is a small, rocky island far off Scotland’s west coast, 20 kilometres southwest of Tiree. The lighthouse there stands 48 metres high on Lewisian gneiss, some of Europe’s oldest rock. Waves constantly wear the reef smooth, and the sea breaks over it with great force. A magnetic anomaly near the rocks adds to the danger for ships. The name comes from the Gaelic for ‘The Great Skerry’, a fitting title for such a lonely place. The lighthouse was built between 1838 and 1844 by Alan Stevenson, nephew of the better-known Robert. More than thirty ships had been wrecked in the area before work began. Sir Walter Scott visited the reef in 1814 and called it a ‘most desolate position’. The tower had to withstand pressures of 300 kilopascals, and its base alone weighed over four thousand tonnes. When finished, it was the tallest and heaviest lighthouse in the modern world. Visitors today find the shore station at Hynish on Tiree, now the Skerryvore Lighthouse Museum. The pier and granite cottages built for the keepers still stand. The reef itself is a jagged ridge, mostly underwater, where waves rise in white pillars and rainbows appear in the spray. The lighthouse is automated now, but its tower remains a stark landmark against the Atlantic. The wind and salt still shape the rocks as they have for thousands of years.