Visitor centres and museums

The former keepers’ cottages and outbuildings have been managed by the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust since 1996. They are now operated as a visitor centre, offering the chance to learn more about Scottish lighthouses and the flora and fauna of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Find out more by visiting the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust website. 

Covesea Lighthouse is situated on the outskirts of Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth Coast. The lighthouse was decommissioned in March 2012 and is owned by the Lossiemouth local community. It opened to the general public as a visitor attraction in 2013. As well as guided tours of the lighthouse you can also stay at the lighthouse cottages. Find out more.

Enjoy a guided tour of the lighthouse by Fair Isle Lighthouse Society. Find out more

The Isle of May is a small island which sits on the edge of the Firth of Forth and is a National Nature Reserve owned by NatureScot. Tours of the lighthouse are organised through NatureScot. Find out more.

At the Mull of Galloway you can climb the Lighthouse, visit the Exhibition of Lighthouse History, experience the Vintage Engines and Foghorn, walk around the RSPB Scotland nature reserve and enjoy delicious food and drink at Scotland’s most southerly coffee house. Find out more.

The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses is based at Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh and tells the story of the Northern Lighthouse Board, the engineers who built the lights and the keepers who tended them. It is the site of the first ever lighthouse established by the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1787.

The former lighthouse, keepers cottages and engine room are preserved for the nation by Historic Environment Scotland and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses and remain as they were when the last lighthouse keeper left.

The Museum has an on-site cafe and free parking facilities. It was granted autism friendly status in 2018. Find out more.

Enjoy a tour of the lighthouse which can also include the fog horn on the north shore 100 metres from the light. The views at the top can be magnificent overlooking all the Orkney islands to the south, Fair Isle, and Shetland to the north. Find out more.

With the kind assistance of the Sanday Ranger and the Sanday Development Trust, Start Point Lighthouse is open on a limited number of days during the summer. The lighthouse, which is unique with its black and white stripes, is situated on the tidal island of Start Point on Sanday’s exposed eastern tip. Find out more.

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse Tower is open for public tours as part of the Sumburgh Head Visitor Centre experience. Find out more.