Cloch Lighthouse

The Cloch Lighthouse is located at the side of the A770 road by Cloch Point, Inverclyde, 2½ miles (4 km) west southwest of Gourock, on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde, directly opposite Dunoon. Built for the Clyde Lighthouses Trust in 1797, it was designed by Thomas Smith (1752 - 1815), with the assistance of Robert Stevenson (1772 - 1850). The squat white tower features a single black band and rises 23m (76 feet) above sea level. The light has a range of 14 miles (23 km) and was originally illuminated by an acetylene flame, with the lenses floating on a bath of mercury and rotated by a clockwork mechanism, which had to be wound by the lightkeepers every few hours. A foghorn was added c.1897.

The Clyde Lighthouses Trust merged to form the Clyde Port Authority in 1966 which, although now privatised, continues to own and operate the lighthouse.


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