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Perched high on top of the cliffs is the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse.
The lighthouse, known as a Stevenson Tower, was built by Robert Stevenson. It took 2 years to build, work commencing in 1828 and was first lit in 1830. The tower stands 26 metres high, and the actual light is 99 metres above sea level. On a clear night the light can be seen for some 28 miles distance.
Open Weekends from Easter( or the second Saturday of April whichever is the sooner) until the last Sunday in October, all Bank Holidays and every Monday in July and August, from 10am to 4pm
Adults £2.50, Under 14 £1.00
EXHIBITION - Engine Room Exhibition officially opened on 23rd June 2009. Open 7 days a week from 10am to 4pm. (For opening times see above, except will open the First Monday in April)
Adults £2.50, under14 £1.
VISIT BOTH THE EXHIBITION & TOWER(when open) for ADULTS £4.00 and CHILDREN under 14 years £1.50.
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Owned and maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board, it at first showed "intermittent" or "occulting" lights, where two opaque cylindrical shades were moved up or down so as to meet and obscure the light at fixed intervals, with periods of darkness longer than those of light.
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Up until 1971, the lens was a combination of shining brass and sparkling crystal, turning through its two and three quarter minute revolution on beautifully made rollers - so perfect that the 5 tons of lens could be moved by hand. The lamp was as simple as the familiar tilly-lamp, lit by hand with paraffin and then pumped up, for all the world like a camp-cooking stove. But there the resemblance ended for the surrounding prisms, which gave off myriad rainbows on a sunny day, caught the light and magnified it to the power of 29,000 candles. |
| The paraffin for the lamps, as well as other requirements of the lighthouse keepers and their families, came via ships and were deposited at East Tarbet where they were stored in a stone building which can still be seen. These ships were also used to move lighthouse keepers around the coastline from post to post.
From the 1870's the children from the lighthouse cottages would have been able to attend school at the Mull Village, after a two and a half mile walk.
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In 1971 the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse was converted to electricity with a sealed-beam light, mounted on a gearless revolving pedestal. New technology meant that the cleaning of the lighthouse became much easier, with no lenses to polish and no machinery to oil.
The Mull of Galloway Lighthouse became automatic in 1988 and is now remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board's Headquarters in Edinburgh. The lighthouse is open to the public at weekends from April to October. The three cottagesat the mull, former homes of the lighthouse keepers are now holiday rentals via the National Trust of Scotland.
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In the early 1900's a foghorn, with it's Atlantic Paraffin engine (replaced in 1955 by three Kelvin diesel engines which still remain in situ within the exhibition) was introduced as an extra warning to shipping to avoid the Mull's rocky coastline and was in use until 1987.
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