Girdleness Lighthouse

Girdle Ness Lighthouse, an active aid to navigation, stands on the Girdle Ness peninsula just south of the entrance to Aberdeen harbour, near Torry Battery in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.

The tower is a tapering cylindrical shape, painted white, with a black lantern, a gallery and orch trim. It rises to a height of 37 m and contains 182 steps to the lantern. Its light, an electric rotating PAR 56 optic, flashes two white beams every 20 seconds and can be seen for 22 nmi.

The lighthouse was designed by the civil engineer Robert Stevenson, with James Gibb as the principal contractor. Construction was completed in 1833 and the lantern was first lit on 15 October 1833, following calls for a beacon after the 1813 wreck of the whaler Oscar in nearby Greyhope Bay. The original illumination used sperm‑oil Argand burners before being replaced by electric lamps. The station was automated in 1991 and has been monitored remotely from the Northern Lighthouse Board headquarters in Edinburgh. A siren fog signal operated from 1902 until 1987.

Today the lighthouse remains operational under the care of the Northern Lighthouse Board. The keeper’s quarters have been sold and the site is not open to the public, although the light and its racon continue to guide vessels entering Aberdeen harbour.

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Girdleness Lighthouse near Aberdeen