Skerryvore Lighthouse Museum

About the museum

Hynish on the south-west coast of Tiree was the shore station for the building of Skerryvore Lighthouse, which stands on a reef about 11 miles offshore. From 1836 to 1837 quarries were opened and a pier was built at Hynish, and the engineer Alan Stevenson turned the site into a base with workers' quarters, warehouses, a harbour with a dry dock, a smithy and a signal tower. Stone was cut and shipped from here for the lighthouse.

The Signal Tower was used to communicate with the keepers by displaying balls on a flagstaff. Keepers' families lived at Hynish, and schoolteachers were appointed there from 1849, until the families were moved to Erraid off Mull in 1892. By the early 1980s the buildings beside the pier had badly decayed.

The Hebridean Trust, formed in 1982, restored them as a visitor facility, and the Northern Lighthouse Board gave the Signal Tower to the trust in 1984. Today the community-owned site is cared for by the Hynish Trust. The Skerryvore Lighthouse Exhibition is in Morton Boyd Hall, a former smithy, and covers the dangers of the reef, the design and construction of the lighthouse, and the industrial archaeology of Hynish, with a scale model of the lighthouse.

Highlights

• Exhibition on the design and building of Skerryvore Lighthouse
• Scale model of the lighthouse
• Signal Tower, open on guided tours
• Hynish Trail around the historic harbour and shore station
• Viewpoint towards the lighthouse at Upper Square

Permanent exhibition

• Skerryvore Lighthouse Exhibition – Exhibition on the Skerryvore reef and the design and construction of the lighthouse by Alan Stevenson, with industrial archaeology and a scale model.

Founded

1984

Operated by

Hynish Trust (Scottish charity SC038956)

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The Signal Tower has no wheelchair access. The site is a working croft with gravel paths and uneven ground, and visitors are asked to close gates. Two toilets are in the exhibition area in Morton Boyd Hall, open April to October.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Hynish is on the south-west coast of Tiree and signposted from the road south of Scarinish.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant

Alan Stevenson House Inn, a licensed restaurant with rooms at the top of the harbour, serves meals, coffee and tea. A free site-map leaflet is available in the exhibition foyer.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit