Update: 01-03-2025
Place of the lighthouse
Hyskeir (Scottish Gaelic: Òigh-sgeir) or Heyskeir is a low-lying rocky islet in the Inner Hebrides and lies 10 km southwest of Canna and 14 km west of Rum and is composed entirely of columnar basalt. The Hyskeir Lighthouse marks the southern entrance to the Minch; the sea between the inner and outer Hebrides. Hyskeir is from the Old Norse sker meaning skerry. Òigh-sgeir is Gaelic for 'maiden' or 'virgin rock', sgeir also meaning skerry. The English name 'Maiden Rock' has also been used.
Building of the Lighthouse
Hyskeir Lighthouse was established in 1904. The 39-metre-high building marks the southern end of the Minch, warning of the presence of the Mills Rocks, the island of Canna and Hyskeir itself. Both Hyskeir and Canna are low lying and prior to the establishment of the light, difficult to observe.
It was designed by David Alan and Charles Stevenson. David Alan Stevenson estimated the cost at £15,134 and the work was given to the Oban contractor D & J MacDougall. The optics were supplied by Chance Brothers costing £821, the lanterns and parapet by Dove and Co., Edinburgh for £1,275.
Construction performance
The lighthouse was originally equipped with a Paraffin Vaporator (PV; say an oil lamp). In 1959 the lighthouse was equipped with an electric lamp and in 1996 a 250 Watt Metal halide lamp was installed.
(Metal halide lamps are high-intensity gas discharge lamps, filled with, among other things, metal halides (a compound between metals and halogens). They are the successors of high-pressure mercury lamps, which emit a bluish light without the use of fluorescent substances.
Metal halide lamps are relatively compact and consist of an inner bulb of quartz glass or ceramic, for example aluminum oxide, in which the actual gas discharge and an outer glass bulb for protection and to absorb the UV radiation from the gas discharge transmitted through the inner bulb).
The lighthouse was in 1904 equipped with a Hyper-radial Lens system. This large and heavy lens was mounted on a mercury bath which allowed the lens to rotate very smoothly. Under normal operating conditions, the lens is rotated by a clock mechanism.
Due to health problems for the lighthouse keepers with these mercury baths (mercury vapours), this system was replaced in 1985 by an electric motor driven system. Subsequently, due to new developments, this system was replaced in 1996 by a stepper motor.Warning systems (Fog horn, Radar Beacon, AIS)
The lighthouse was equipped with a fog horn until February 2005. The fog horn gave a blast every 30 seconds in bad weather. Until March 2022, a Racon is available up to 14 NM with the Morse code T(--). The lighthouse is also equipped with an Automatic Identification System (see: AIS page)
Operational status
The lighthouse keepers served at the lighthouse for a month and were then relieved by boat. The lighthouse was manned until March 1997, becoming one of the last lighthouses in Scotland to be automated. Until then, the families of the lighthouse keepers lived on the coast station in Oban. The house on Glenmore Road was built in 1904 as a coastal station for the Hyskeir Lighthouse.
From the 1970s the lighthouse keepers were relieved by helicopter. Heavy equipment and oil must be brought in by ship. During the winter of 1980, bad weather prevented the lighthouse vessel Fingal from delivering oil on a number of occasions between September and January. When supplies finally landed, only two days of oil remained at the station.
Several low bridges connect the islands and the remains of the fog horn are visible at the far end. However, the gardens are now so overgrown that it is difficult to determine exactly how large they were. The keepers were briefly known for their three-hole golf course following their appearance on TV.
The lighthouse is now controlled by the Northern Lighthouse Board in Edinburgh.
