NB5166 : Water trough on the Butt of Lewis
taken 13 years ago, near to Eoropie, Isle of Lewis And Harris, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland
The Butt of Lewis is the northernmost point of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. There is a lighthouse designed and built by David & Thomas Stevenson (sons of Robert and brother of Alan - all lighthouse engineers) and constructed in 1862. It is 37m (121ft) tall at an elevation of 52m (170ft) with a nominal range of 25 nautical miles. It flashes a white light every five seconds, and since 1998 is fully automated, being one of the last four Scottish lighthouses to dispense with the services of their keepers. It is looked after by the Northern Lighthouse Board (the Scottish equivalent to Trinity House) and is monitored remotely from Edinburgh.
The Butt of Lewis has appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as the windiest place in the United Kingdom, sticking out as it does into the North Atlantic.