Turnberry Lighthouse

Bristo Rock, off the stretch of Ayrshire coast near Turnberry Point, had been the cause of so many shipwrecks that in 1869 the Receiver of Wreck at Ayr suggested a lighthouse should be built on the rock. The engineers for the Northern Lighthouse Board, David and Thomas Stevenson examined the rock and decided it was not a suitable location but instead recommended a nearby onshore site, Turnberry Point, at a place where the moat of Turnberry Castle had once been. Construction started in 1871 at an estimated cost of £6,576. The building contractor was John Barr of Ardrossan and the lantern and machinery was by Milne and son. The light was first lit on 30 August 1873.

Turnberry lighthouse is operated and maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board. The characteristic of the light is one flash of white light every 15 seconds. The tower is white, the lantern is at a height of 29 m above high water and the light's nominal range is 24 nmi. The lighthouse was automated in 1986 and became remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board Edinburgh offices. The lighthouse was used as the land base for the Ailsa Craig lighthouse relief helicopter. In 1992 the Northern Lighthouse Board sold the accommodation block to the then owners of the Turnberry golf course. The brick-built circular tower of the lighthouse tapers and is painted white. There are small…