Barns Ness lighthouse


Tower: Height: 37 metres, white conical masonry tower, built of stone from Craigree (near Cramond) and Barnton quarries,
169 steps to top of tower

Elevation: 36 metres

Range: Isophase (a flashing light with equal periods of light and darkness) white every 4 seconds, visible for 10 miles (16 km)
The light was discontinued on 27th of October 2005

built 1901 by David A. Stevenson

Date automated: 1986

Current use: Permanently discontinued.


Some facts:

Barns Ness, near Dunbar in East Lothian, is to be sold by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) after the building stopped being used as a lighthouse in 2005.

According to the NLB, the number of lighthouses in Scotland had increased in recent years although the types of lighthouses have changed to small units, made of non-corroding materials, run on solar panels and batteries and sometimes on wind power. The new beacons are not much bigger than a decent-sized telephone box.

Barns Ness lighthouse was operated by 2 resident keepers until 1966, when semi-automatic operation and the conversion from paraffin to mains-electric illumination reduced the required staff to only 1 keeper.