Rua Reidh Lighthouse

Rua Reidh Lighthouse stands near the entrance to Loch Ewe in Wester Ross, Highland. It marks Rubha Rèidh, a flat headland where the name comes from. The Stevenson family built it between 1908 and 1912 under David Alan Stevenson. The light first shone on 15 January 1912 using a paraffin lamp later changed to electricity. A fog siren once gave four blasts every ninety seconds until it stopped in 1980. The original Fresnel lens now sits in Gairloch Heritage Museum. The lighthouse once relied on a quay and ramp for supplies brought by sea at high tide. A road from Gairloch opened in 1962, and Iain Bain drove it first that year. The road later became the centre of an access dispute with a nearby bed and breakfast. The council insists the public can use the road despite barriers put up by the owners. The lighthouse itself was automated in 1986 and its keeper’s houses sold privately. Visitors find the lighthouse set against steep cliffs where fulmars, shags and kittiwakes nest. Basking sharks and Atlantic seals swim in the surrounding sea. Some outbuildings now serve as bed and breakfast or self-catering accommodation. The old fog siren trumpet and its timing mechanism are displayed at the Gairloch heritage centre. The engine room’s front facade and part of the siren tower remain standing. The site offers quiet views over Loch Ewe and the open waters beyond.