Skervuile Lighthouse

Skervuile Lighthouse stands on a reef in the Sound of Jura, a narrow sea passage between the islands of Jura and Islay in Argyll and Bute. The tower rises from jagged rocks where waves crash day and night. It was designed in 1865 by David and Thomas Stevenson, two well-known Scottish lighthouse engineers. The white cylinder is twenty-five metres tall with a black lantern dome above a stone gallery. A keeper’s house once stood on the shore but is no longer used. The Northern Lighthouse Board in Edinburgh runs the light and keeps ships safe along Scotland’s west coast. Every fifteen seconds the lantern sends a white flash twenty-two metres above sea level. The site can only be reached by boat, so visitors arrive by small craft from nearby harbours. The lighthouse has the international code ARLHS: SCO-216 and the Admiralty number A4230. Visitors step onto the reef at low tide when the rocks are exposed. The tower’s gallery offers views across the Sound to Jura’s dark hills and Islay’s green slopes. Seabirds circle the lantern, and seals often rest on the water nearby. The stark white tower contrasts with the grey sea and the green islands, making it a striking landmark.