Name and Location

North Ronaldsay Lighthouse is located at Ancumtoun, North Ronaldsay, KW17 2BG, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom. The coordinates are 59.38966° N, 2.381388° W.

Construction and History

The lighthouse was constructed in 1854 by the Stevenson family (David and Thomas Stevenson of Edinburgh). It is an active coastal light and navigational aid on the northern tip of North Ronaldsay. The first light was lit in October 1854. The lighthouse was converted to automatic operation in 1978 as part of the Northern Lighthouse Board program.

Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse has a typical mid-19th-century Scottish design, with a cylindrical tower and gallery and lantern. It is constructed using rubble masonry (locally quarried stone) with a white exterior rendering and red-rimmed lantern roof. The tower height is not formally recorded, but it stands on a low shore promontory. The focal height above mean high water is 43 meters.

Light and Navigation

The light characteristic is Fl(1) W 10s – one white flash every 10 seconds (0.3 s flash + 9.7 s eclipse). The range is 24 nautical miles. The Admiralty Reference is A3722, and a racon (radar transponder returns Morse “O” signal) is installed.

Accessibility and Visiting

The grounds are open to the public at all times, but access to the tower and lantern is restricted. Visitors can reach the lighthouse by regular ferry service from Kirkwall or a 6 km walk or drive north from the island's sole settlement.

Notable Views and Landscape

The surrounding landscape features wind-scoured low coastal heath, machair grasslands, tidal flats to the north – important bird habitat. Panoramic sea vistas are available east-west across the Pentland Firth, with sunsets over Hoy and the Scottish mainland.

Anecdotes and Folklore

Keepers' logs record storms bending the tower railings and one 1897 wreck of the schooner Mary Jane on nearby skerries. Local legend has it that the lighthouse guides the “trowie” (Orcadian fairy) boats that ferry seals ashore at dusk.

Technical and Operational Details

The optic is a modern sealed-beam LED lantern, replacing an original Fresnel lens. Power comes from mains-linked solar and battery backup. There is no dedicated AIS transmitter; instead, the lighthouse relies on its racon and radio navigational broadcasts.

Further Information

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