North Unst Lighthouse, Muckle Flugga, Unst is a Grade A listed building in the Shetland Islands local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 13 August 1971. Lighthouse.

North Unst Lighthouse, Muckle Flugga, Unst

WRENN ID
carved-dormer-auburn
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
Shetland Islands
Constituency
Orkney and Shetland MP: Mr Alistair Carmichael (LD)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
13 August 1971
Type
Lighthouse
OS grid reference
HP 606 196
Coordinates
60.85529, -0.88528
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

North Unst Lighthouse, located at Muckle Flugga in Unst, was designed by David and Thomas Stevenson in 1858, with some additions made in the late 19th century. This rock lighthouse complex features a short, battered circular tower that is corbelled out to support a balcony, which is surrounded by a cast-iron handrail and topped with a domed metal lantern. To the east of the tower is a single-storey, flat-roofed square accommodation building. Adjacent to the south is a fog horn house, all enclosed by a boundary wall. The entrance gate to the east is accessed from the sea via a straight flight of steps carved into the rock. The western boundary wall extends south and ends next to a single-storey rectangular outbuilding that has a flat roof and a chimney.

Local climate

North Unst Lighthouse, Muckle Flugga, Unst sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,160 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 89% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 4 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 98% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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