Hidden Scotland
Sign in
A red and white striped lighthouse standing on a rocky headland above the sea
Aberdeenshire

Buchan Ness Lighthouse

Robert Stevenson's lighthouse of 1827 on Buchan Ness at Boddam, near the most easterly point of mainland Scotland, its white tower ringed with a broad red band.

Welcome

Just south of Peterhead, the fishing village of Boddam looks out to a low rocky headland joined to it by a little bridge.

On it stands Buchan Ness lighthouse, a slender white tower with a broad red band round its middle. The Ness is very nearly the most easterly point of mainland Scotland.

The lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, and first lit in 1827. The tower is 35 metres high, with 166 steps to the top, and the red band was painted on in 1910 to make it stand out by day. It has worked without keepers since 1988, and its foghorn, known locally as the Boddam Coo, fell silent in 2000.

The rocks round the Ness are full of caves and pools, and from here the cliffs run south for five miles to Cruden Bay, past the Bullers of Buchan.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
A short drive awayCruden Bay Golf ClubLinks golf through towering dunes above the bay at Cruden Bay, on the Aberdeenshire coast, with Slains Castle on the cliffs beyond.11 min by roadSee itCruden Bay Golf Club
Before you go

The lighthouse is a working light and is not open inside; the headland can be reached on foot over the bridge from Boddam at any time.

Where
Buchan Ness, reached by a bridge from Boddam, three miles south of Peterhead.
Built
1827, by Robert Stevenson.

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review
Where it is

On Buchan Ness, joined by a bridge to the village of Boddam, three miles south of Peterhead.

Close byBoddam.
  1. The broken gable of Boddam Castle, a window open to the sky, on its rocky point above the sea.Boddam Castle and Stirling HillCliff-tops, a castle ruin on a finger of rock, and the flooded quarries of the red Peterhead granite.Under a mile 2 min by road
  2. A cell hall in Peterhead Prison, galleries rising to the roof above a table-tennis table.Peterhead Prison MuseumLife inside Peterhead's old granite prison.3 miles 5 min by road
  3. The bronze of Fisher Jessie with a child at her side on Marischal Street, Peterhead.Fisher JessieAndy Scott's bronze in Peterhead to the women of the fishing towns.4 miles 7 min by road
  4. Bullers of BuchanBullers of BuchanA collapsed sea cave on the cliffs, a great round pot open to the sea.4 miles 7 min by road
  5. A wood-burning stove set into an old stone wall at the Kilmarnock Arms.The Kilmarnock Arms6 miles 9 min by road
  6. New Slains CastleNew Slains CastleThe clifftop ruin said to have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.6 miles 11 min by road
Directions
Tables on the terrace at Harbour Dunes looking over Port Erroll and the bay.CafeHarbour Dunes Café5.9 miles
Aerial view of a coastal links golf course with rolling fairways and dunesAttractionsCruden Bay Golf Club6.4 miles
White lighthouse on a stone base rising from open seaAttractionsRattray Head11 miles

Recommend to a friend

Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Read on

What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Aberdeenshire.

ArticleThe Wildest of Scottish LighthousesCollectionLighthouses in Scotland You Can Actually Reach
More in Aberdeenshire
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .