Fair Isle South Lighthouse


(Skadan Lighthouse, Skaddan Lighthouse)

Located at Skadan (or Skaddan) in the southwest of the remote island of Fair Isle (Shetland), the Fair Isle South Lighthouse was the work of David A. Stevenson (1854 - 1938) and Charles Stevenson (1855 - 1950), and first illuminated in 1892. The tower is the tallest in Shetland at 25.9m (85 feet). Powered by diesel generators, the light has a range of 25 miles (40 km) and is visible in Orkney. The lighthouse was subject to German bombing on two occasions during World War II; the first attack killed the wife of an Assistant Keeper while the second killed the wife and daughter of the Principal Keeper, and a soldier, as well as destroying the lighthouse keepers' cottages.

This was the last lighthouse in Scotland to be automated and a ceremony held here in March 1998 to mark the end of the era of manned lights was attended by HRH The Princess Royal, who unveiled a plaque. The light is now remotely monitored from the Northern Lighthouse Board Headquarters in Edinburgh. Its foghorn - one of Scotland's last - was dismantled in 2005. The accommodation blocks, rebuilt after their wartime destruction, now provide bed and breakfast for visitors. A helipad and the island's football pitch lie adjacent.


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