Turnberry Point Lighthouse
Turnberry Point, Ayrshire
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Location Guide |
Turnberry Lighthouse marks a dangerous part of
the Ayrshire coast and is situated close to the 9th hole of Turnberry Golf
Course in what was once the moat of Turnberry Castle. It has unusual
surroundings with plenty of scope for nature study and very early observations
of bird migrations were recorded by lightkeepers long before observatories were
established on the
Isle of May
 and
Fair Isle
on Shetland.
Photo by
John Mundy
The lighthouse started to be built
in 1871 and was completed in 1873 at an estimated cost of £6,576. It was built
to warn ships away from the Bristo Rock offshore, after it had been responsible
for many wrecks. The initial idea was to build the lighthouse on the rock iself,
but engineers David and Thomas Stevenson advised that this was not a good idea,
and the place place to put it was on Turnberry Point. The light was
first exhibited in 1873, the character of one flash every 12 seconds
was decided upon to distinguish it from
Corsewall
and
Davaar
lights. It was
automated in 1986 and is now remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse
Boards offices in Edinburgh.
Turnberry Lighthouse View
Viewed
from the northern edge of Turnberry Point.
Mary and Angus Hogg
Situated in a photogenic stretch of the
Ayrshire coastline in a position which makes it ideal for sunset shots all year
round. Look out of the afterglow when the lighthouse starts sending it's signal.
Lighthouse information Grid
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Name: |
Turnberry Point Lighthouse,
Turnberry, Givan Ayrshire |
|
Current status: |
Working |
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Geographic Position: |
55° 19.572'N 004° 50.655'W |
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Grid Reference: |
NS196072 |
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Ceremonial County: |
Ayrshire
 |
|
Appearance: |
round masonry tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a two storey
keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white with buff trim, lantern painted
black |
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Map
Link: |
Multimap
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Aerial photo: |
Google Aerial
Marinas.com
|
|
Other photos: |
photo
closeup
|
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Originally built: |
1873 |
|
Current lighthouse built: |
|
|
Height of Tower: |
24
metres |
|
Height of light above mean sea level: |
29 metres |
|
Character of light: |
Flashing White every 15 seconds |
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Character of fog signal: |
|
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Range of light: |
24 nautical miles |
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Owned / run by: |
Northern
Lighthouse Board
|
|
Getting there: |
Access route off the A719 coastal road north of Turnberry on the way to Maidens. |
|
Access: |
Car park in Turnberry, then it's a
walk along the coastline. |
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Website: |
NLB
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Other Useful Websites: |
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| Routes: |
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Other Relevant pages: |
For more articles, lists and other information
see the
Lighthouses Section
Lighthouse Map of Scotland
Featured List of lighthouses - Scotland
List of minor lighthouses and lights - Scotland
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Notes: |
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