Muckle Flugga Lighthouse is the northernmost lighthouse in the United Kingdom and is located on a protrusion of rocks in the Atlantic Ocean, on the northern tip of Unst. The lighthouse was built by David and Thomas Stevenson (of the Northern Lighthouse Board) and completed on the 1st of January 1858, though a temporary light had been in operation since October 1854.
The need for a lighthouse to protect shipping was evident as far back as 1851, though
it was another 3 years before building work commenced. The temporary structure established
in 1854 was only built to resist the wind and rain (as it was situated 200ft above
sea level and was 50ft in height) though it was soon discovered that the sea would
still pose a problem to the structure. At the time, it was reported that during the
winter months, the waves regularly crashed into the tower forcing the re-
Work began on building the permanent structure at Muckle Flugga in June 1855, though there was some debate that the lighthouse should, instead, be situated at Lamba Ness. Built and engineered by David and Thomas Stevenson (who also built other Shetland lighthouses including Old Skerries and Bressay), the walls of the tower are 3½ft thick, 64ft high and the foundations are seated 10ft into the rock.
The lighthouse was originally a fixed light, however this changed to group-
Originally named North Unst, the lighthouse was renamed Muckle Flugga in 1964 and the light was automated in 1995.