Sumburgh Head
Sumburgh Head Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse on Shetland. The name Sumburgh derives from the Norse words Sunn Borg, meaning ‘South Broch’.
The Lighthouse was engineered by Robert Stevenson and first exhibited in 1821. The optical apparatus is group flashing with Stevenson’s equiangular refractor showing flashes every 30 seconds. The contractors were Chance Brothers & Co Ltd of Birmingham and also James Dove & Co of Greenside, Edinburgh.
In 1906 a fog signal was established at Sumburgh Head until it being decommissioned in 1987.
The station was fully automated in 1991, and the former keepers’ cottages and outbuildings were sold to the Shetland Amenity Trust. In 2014 the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve was officially opened by the NLB’s Patron, HRH The Princess Royal. More information on Lighthouse tours can be found here: www.sumburghhead.com
VISIT WEBSITELighthouses closest to Sumburgh Head in the Route:
Shown in straight lines
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