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Cromarty lighthouse's white tower and keepers' cottages behind the sea wall under a stormy sky.
Ross and Cromarty

Cromarty Lighthouse

Alan Stevenson's lighthouse of 1846 on the shore at Cromarty, no longer lit, now a University of Aberdeen field station studying the firth's dolphins and seals.

Welcome

At the very tip of the Black Isle, on Cromarty's harbour front, a short white tower stands beside a low row of keepers' cottages behind the sea wall.

It was designed by Alan Stevenson, uncle of Robert Louis Stevenson, and first lit in 1846, when its lamp burned sperm whale oil.

The light guided ships into the Cromarty Firth for a hundred and sixty years. It became automatic in 1985, and in 2006 the Northern Lighthouse Board switched it off for good.

It has a second life now. Since 1990 the University of Aberdeen has used the keepers' cottage as its Lighthouse Field Station, and in 2009 it bought the lighthouse itself. From here, researchers study the bottlenose dolphins, seals and seabirds of the Moray Firth. It is best seen from the shore, on a walk from the harbour along the sea front.

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Before you go

The lighthouse can be seen from the shore at any time.

It is a working research station.

Where
George Street, Cromarty, IV11 8YJ, by the harbour.
Built
1846, by Alan Stevenson.
Now
The University of Aberdeen's Lighthouse Field Station.

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Where it is

On the harbour front at Cromarty, IV11 8YJ.

Close byCromarty.
  1. Cromarty FerryCromarty FerryThe little summer ferry across to Nigg.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Renfrew Rose ferry docks at a slipway, an oil rig visible across the firthCromarty Ferry TerminalUnder a mile 1 min by road
  3. Ochre-painted shop with slate roof and outdoor benches under a grey skySutor Creek CaféFresh seafood and woodfired pizzas at Sutor Creek Café in CromartyUnder a mile 1 min by road
  4. Yellow "cinema" lettering on a dark corrugated building beside the waterCromarty CinemaUnder a mile 1 min by road
  5. CromartyCromartyUnder a mile 1 min by road
  6. Calluna clothing shop with hanging baskets on Church StreetCallunaAn independent women's clothes shop in the middle of Cromarty since 2018, with colourful brands, good fabrics and friendly help.Under a mile 1 min by road
Directions
ShoppingIngrid's House0.3 miles
A hand-painted Cromarty Pottery dish with a striped cat, on a wooden shelf.ShoppingCromarty Pottery0.3 miles
Craft shop interior with jewellery cabinets, an RNLI lifeboat model and daffodils on the counterShoppinggallery480.3 miles
Inside the Fishertown Inn in Cromarty, a long bar of blue panelling and wooden floors with tables by the windows.BarsThe Fishertown Inn0.3 miles
A Micro Can canning machine fills tins beside steel brewery fermentation tanksAttractionsCromarty Brewing Company3.3 miles
Wooden cabin with sloped roof and ramp, surrounded by autumn treesAttractionsRSPB Udale Bay5.2 miles
Kirkmichael's restored red sandstone church among old gravestones, a gravel path winding through the grass.AttractionsKirkmichael6.5 miles
A long sandstone steading with a conical-roofed tower at its centre stands beyond a field of young crops, trees framing it on either side in evening light.BalblairNewhall MainsPlace to stay · 7.0 miles
Sunset breaks through clouds over a mudflat estuary and distant hillsAttractionsUdale Bay Viewpoint7.6 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the lighthouse, and when each is next free.

A long sandstone steading with a conical-roofed tower at its centre stands beyond a field of young crops, trees framing it on either side in evening light.Newhall Mains
  • To stay
  • In Balblair
  • 6 miles from Cromarty lighthouse
Check datesA curved cabin clad in overlapping wooden shingles stands on gravel among wildflowers, arched windows and a door along one side.Boath Cabin
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Nairn
  • 11 miles from Cromarty lighthouse
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovCulbin Edge, Inverness-shireCulbin Edge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Brodie
  • 13 miles from Cromarty lighthouse
Free 9–11 NovA grand stone mansion glows with lit windows at dusk, bare autumn branches framing the facade.Links House at Royal Dornoch
  • To stay
  • In Dornoch
  • 14 miles from Cromarty lighthouse
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Ross and CromartyAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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