Mull of Galloway
The Mull of Galloway is the headland at the southern extremity of the Rhinns of Galloway, where Wigtownshire projects westward toward Ulster. This is southernmost point of Wigtownshire and hence also the southernmost point of Scotland.
'Mull' means rounded hill or mountain, from the Galloway Gaelic maol or perhaps the Old Welsh moel.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse stands at the point. Built in 1830 by engineer Robert Stevenson, the white-painted round tower is 85 feet high. The light is 325 feet above sea level and has a range of 28 nautical miles.[1]
During Second World War, a French member of the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), Cladius Echallier, died by striking the Lighthouse in a Beaufighter, while making a low landfall from the Irish Sea.[2]
The Mull has one of the last remaining sections of natural coastal habitat on the Galloway coast and as such supports a wide variety of plant and animal species. It is now a nature reserve managed by the RSPB.
The lighthouse is now automatic, and an old outhouse has been converted into a visitor centre, run by the South Rhins Community Development Trust, a group of local people and businesses. In the summer, the lighthouse is open by the Trust every weekend between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm; an additional day, Monday, is added to these opening times during July and August. There is a minimal charge for entry. In 2004 a new café was built at the Mull of Galloway, called the "Gallie Craig". Its design incorporates into the landscape with a turf roof, giving views across to Ulster and south to the Isle of Man.
Miscellany
- Andy Strangeway slept on the Mull of Galloway on 31 March 2009, as part of his tour becoming the first person to sleep at each of the extreme points of Scotland.
Outside links
References
- ↑ Northern Lighthouse Boad – Our Lights
- ↑ The Forgotten Pilots, Lettice Curtis, Page 153