Corsewall Lighthouse, Category A listed lighthouse in Kirkcolm, Scotland
Corsewall Lighthouse is a 34-meter masonry tower on a coastal headland in Kirkcolm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is painted white with a black lantern room and ochre trim, and it overlooks the shipping lanes of the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland.
Robert Stevenson, the Scottish engineer responsible for many of Scotland's coastal lighthouses, built this tower in 1816. It was designed to make the North Channel safer for ships crossing between Scotland and Ireland.
The former lighthouse keepers' cottages have been converted into a hotel, so visitors can actually stay on the site overnight. Guests often watch the beam sweep across the water after dark, as the lighthouse is still operational.
The lighthouse sits on an open headland and is reached by a footpath along the coast. Weather here can change quickly, so it is worth bringing a waterproof layer even on clear days.
In 1892, three engineers carrying out maintenance work on the lighting system hid a message inside a glass bottle within the tower. The bottle was not found until 2024, more than 130 years later.
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