Beyond here be dragons.

This is the 35 metre high granite-built lighthouse that stands on the tip of the Buchan Ness Peninsula, the most north easterly point on the British Mainland. In 1819 the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses Board were petitioned by the Magistrates, Town Council and Harbour trustees of Peterhead, to have a lighthouse erected on or near to Buchan Ness. The area was surveyed by Robert Stevenson*, Engineer to the Board, who decided on the present position near to the village of Boddam, and the light was in operation by 1827. The light's signature at night is a white flash every 5 seconds and the red bands were added In 1907 to help identify it during daylight. In 1978 the lantern was enlarged and electrified and the candlepower raised from 786,000 to 2,000,000 giving it a range of 28 nautical miles. In 2013 the 3.5kw lamps, which had become difficult to obtain were replaced by two LED lanterns and the range was reduced to 18 nautical miles.

* Robert Stevenson (1772 - 1850) was born in Glasgow, the son of a West Indies merchant. His mother, having been widowed, married Thomas Smith (1752 - 1815), the first Engineer to the Northern Lighthouses Board. In 1797, Stevenson succeeded his step-father as Engineer to the Lighthouse Board. He held this post for 47 years during which time he was responsible for designing eighteen of Scotland's lighthouses. These were: Bell Rock (1811), Toward Point (1812), Southerness Point (1812), Isle of May (1816), Corsewall Point (1817), Point of Ayre (1818), Calf of Man (1818), Sumburgh Head (1821), Rhinns of Islay (1825), Buchan Ness (1827), Cape Wrath (1828), Tarbat Ness (1830), Mull of Galloway (1830), Dunnet Head (1831), Douglas Head (1832), Girdle Ness (1833), Barra Head (1833) and Lismore (1833).

Robert Stevenson began a dynasty known as the 'Lighthouse Stevensons'. Between 1790 and 1940, eight members of the family planned, designed and built 97 lighthouses around the Scottish coast. Robert was father of lighthouse builders Alan (1807-65), David (1815-86) and Thomas Stevenson (1818-87), and grand-father of the author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94). Other grandsons David (1854 - 1938), Charles (1855 - 1950) and great-grandson Alan (1891 - 1971) continued the dynasty.

Information taken from the Gazetter for Scotland and the Northern Lighthouse Board website.