Cape Wrath
Eighteen kilometers from Durness Village the most north-westerly point on the British mainland.

Lighthouse Facts and Figures

• The co-ordinates for the base of the Lighthouse tower:
      Latitude 058⁰ 37' 31.59" N
      Longitude 004⁰ 59' 56.10" W

• Light Established: 1828

• Engineer: Robert Stevenson

• Character of Light: Flashing (4) white every 30 seconds

• Elevation: 122 metres

• Candle Power: 204,000 candles

• Nominal Range: 24 miles (22 nautical miles)

• Structure: White Tower 20 metres high

• There are 81 steps to the top of the tower

• Fog Horn: Siren 90 seconds 6 blasts

Lighthouse tower and dwelling houses are listed as buildings of Architectural and Historic Interest.

A Brief History/General Background Information

An Act of Parliament created the Northern Lighthouse Board (The "Board") in 1786, authorising the construction of four lighthouses in Scotland and the establishment of a Commission for their administration. The Commissioners appointed at that time were the Law Agents of the Crown, Sheriffs of Coastal Counties and the Provosts and Lords Provost of Scottish Towns and Cities whose mercantile interests were involved. Over the years the numbers of the Board varied and further changes were brought about by the local government and sheriffdom reorganisation. Today, all Scottish Sheriffs-Principal are members of the Board along with the Lord Advocate, Solicitor General, Lords Provost of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, Provost of Inverness, The Chairman of Argyle & Butte District Council, a nominee from the Isle of Man and a further five co-opted members who serve for a period of three years and three of whom must have nautical experience.

From the original four lighthouses the number of lights administered throughout Scotland, the adjacent seas and islands and the Isle of Man (which was brought within the Board's jurisdiction in 1815), has increased to 191 of which 50 were permanently manned and 141 unmanned. In addition to these lights, the Board is responsible for the buoyage and marking by means of beacons of navigational hazards within their area of jurisdiction. Of the approximate number of 150 buoys along the Scottish and Manx coasts, about half are lighted. None of the 31 beacons are lighted.

Manned lighthouses were divided into two main categories, Rock or Relieving Stations and Mainland Stations. A Relieving Station is virtually a Rock Station on the mainland so remote that it is unsuitable for wives and children to reside there. At these Stations and Rocks, the light keepers on duty live alone, their families being resident at a shore station, usually in the nearest town or city. There were six light keepers assigned to this type of station, three of whom were on duty at the lighthouse at any one time. The light keepers served a month on duty and a month ashore and were relieved by attending boat, tender or helicopter. Four light keepers were appointed to important Mainland Stations where fog signals and radio beacons are established. Stations without fog signals were manned by two or sometimes only one light keeper. Furnished dwelling houses were provided for all mobile keepers whose tour of duty at any one station averaged around four years. Some stations had local assistant light keepers who remained at a particular station, were classed as non-mobile and didn't have houses provided by the Board. Each lighthouse was in the charge of a Principal Light keeper who had under him up to three Assistants. Two Principal Light keepers were attached to Rock and Relieving Lighthouses. Occasional Light keepers were also employed on a part-time basis to do duty when required to allow the regular keepers annual leave and their respite periods and to substitute in cases of sick absence. For the relief of Rock Lighthouses, delivery of stores (oil, paint, machinery spares etc.) to rocks and stations where road access is difficult the Board has three ships (lighthouse tenders), and a helicopter on contract to carry out these tasks. The three tenders, MV PHAROS (1712 tonnes), MV FINGAL (1342 tonnes), and MV POLE STAR (1328 tonnes), are based at Leith, Oban and Stromness, respectively. They each carry a crew of about 30 officers and men, with additional accommodation for officials and light keepers, have adequate hold and deck space for lighthouse stores and buoys.

The mention of buoys features of course, another area of activity for the tender whose responsibility it is to maintain the many buoys positioned off the Scottish and Manx coasts. They are also required to undertake the often-painstaking search and recovery of floating objects or obstructions considered hazardous to navigation. Regular trips to the oil fields are now encompassed in the ships programmes so that the navaids carried by the oilrigs may be checked for compliance with requirements.

The commodore ship of the fleet is the MV PHAROS and it is on board the PHAROS that the Commissioners carry out their annual inspection of selected lighthouses.

The relief of most of the Rock Lighthouses is now effected by helicopter and the anxiety which many light keepers experienced on relief day as to whether the sea would remain calm enough for a successful relief is now happily only a rather unpleasant memory. The helicopter has of course proved to be a valuable asset in many ways. Apart from the reliability, speed and comfort in relief operations, it is utilised in conjunction with the MVs FINGAL and POLE STAR, both of which have been fitted with helidecks, to service many of the minor automatic lighthouses where previously, accessibility was always something of a problem. The ability to transport loads underslung also qualifies the helicopter as an extremely useful workhorse. The Board does not own a helicopter but prefer to have the exclusive use of an aircraft on contract. The present contractors are North Scottish Helicopters Ltd and the helicopter is a twin-engined MBB Bolkow 1050 which seats 5 including the pilot and is ideally suited for lighthouse work. As one would imagine homes for the stores and buoys previously mentioned are a necessity and those are found at the Depots located in Granton, Oban and Stromness. The latter two, as well as providing berthing and fuelling facilities for the tenders see much helicopter activity as they fulfil the role of bases for the West and North airborne operations.

Each Depot has an Officer-in-Charge, an Assistant Officer-in-Charge and varying numbers of staff to carry out the numerous duties involved in the day to day functioning of their particular section of the establishment.

In an organisation whose tendrils reach as far north as the northern most peninsula in Shetland and as far south as the Calf of Man, it is essential to have a nerve centre and this is found behind the Georgian edifice of 84 George Street, Edinburgh. Known, not unnaturally throughout the Service as "Headquarters". There, under the General Manager, the staff falls mainly into two sections, Administrative and Technical. In the former the Secretary controls the functions of the Administration, personnel and Accounting Departments, and in the latter those of the Superintending, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Radio Departments are under the direction of the Engineer-in-Chief. Also in the Headquarters Building are located the Workshops which are well equipped to service all lighthouse machinery, electrical, radar, and radio installations.

The Workshops are manned by Technicians and Artificers, many of who are out on the district servicing and repairing equipment on the spot for approximately six months of the year.

The Northern Lighthouse Board is one of the three Lighthouse Authorities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the costs of running the three Services are met from a General Lighthouse Fund. This fund is financed by the collection of Light Dues paid by British and Foreign-Going ships calling at ports in the United Kingdom and Eire. The fact that the fund is administered by the Department of Trade may give rise to the popular belief that Lighthouse Authorities are public funded and are therefore Government Departments. This, however, is not so, the fund is self-financing and receives no grant whatsoever from the Exchequer. The powers and duties of the three Lighthouse Authorities are embodied in the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, which is the standard reference on the subject. In its early days the Northern Lighthouse Board was fortunate to have employees whose ideals were of the highest order, people who were dedicated to the service and safety of the mariner. Today these ideals are a tradition that is imbued within every member of the Service however small or great a part they play in achieving the fulfilment of the Board's Motto: "In Salutem Omnium" (For the Safety of All).

Historical Items about Cape Wrath Lighthouse

The light at the lighthouse, shone for the very first time on Christmas day 1828.

On 17 January 1977 the helicopter carried out the Cape Wrath Relief - a history making moment as this was the first helicopter relief carried out at a shore-based Scottish lighthouse. As the lighthouse is not easily accessible by road, all stores including household goods and spare parts as well as the diesel and paraffin oil required to power the machinery are landed once a year by the Lighthouse Tender MV PHAROS, whose duty it is to convey stores to the isolated lighthouses along the Scottish and Manx coasts.

In 1978 the paraffin vapour burner was replaced by mercury vapour lamps and in January 1980 an electrically operated temporary power beam was installed. In December 1980 a completely new gearless pedestal and lamp array system was installed.

Cape Wrath Lighthouse was converted to automatic status on 31 March 1998 and is now remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board’s offices in Edinburgh.

In 1999, John & Kay Ure began the long process of renovating the old lighthouse keepers cottage, with the intention of eventually moving in and living there - as well as opening a cafe.

Due to bridge of the modern day's merchant ships now being enclosed, as well as the widespread use of electronic position finding aids and radar, the use of the fog horn as a warning has been significantly reduced, and thus, all fog horns have now been turned off. This began with the ones at Cape Wrath, Copinsay, Fair Isle North and Rattray Head in 2001.

On the 1st of June, 2009, The Ozone Café - which is the remotest café on mainland Britain, was open for business for the very first time. Since then, it has never closed - open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

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Page maintained by Francis Beardsell contact via e-mail, last updated 20th December 2011.