Photos of Eilean Glas Lighhouse
About Eilean Glas Lighhouse
Eilean Glas Lighthouse stands on a rocky point on the eastern coast of Scalpay Island, a small island. The tower is quite eye catching with its white and red paint job. Robert Stevenson built the present tower in 1824 (replacing one of the four earliest lighthouses in Scotland, that was first lit here in 1789). Pieces of the original 1700s tower still stand behind the old foghorn today. The tower's red on white contrasts amazingly against grey rock and dark water. Getting low on the rock highlights the colour bands as they stack up against sky. Behind it, the old tower, the foghorn and the keepers' cottages make a second group of shooting subjects. A stone wall rings the site, built to shelter the crops the keepers used to grow out here. Across the bay you can usually pick out the north end of Skye. If you are lucky you'll be able to capture puffins dotting the clifftops in late spring and summer, or porpoises in the water below. Scalpay only has one road across the island and it takes you right to the Outend Car Park. From there it is about 2.5 km each way on foot. The trail winds through a peat bog with lots of photogenic views to pause at along the way. A longer circuit, the Heritage Walk, loops most of the island and is worth exploring if you have extra time. (Isle of Scalpay, Outer Hebrides, Scotland)
