The Rhuvaal, or Rudh A’ Mhail, Lighthouse is a Category B listedStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. 19th-century lighthouse at the north-eastern end of the island of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland.^[1] The active lighthouse marks the northern approaches to the Sound of Islay, a narrow channel separating Islay from the adjacent island of Jura, and is one of the seven lighthouses operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board, which act as maritime aids to navigation on and around Islay.^[2]

The need for lights near the sound had been identified as early as 1835. The Board of Trade requested that the light should cover the Neva Rocks to the west, which required a substantial tower to be built. The lighthouse was designed by the brothers David and Thomas Stevenson, the sons of Robert, from the Stevenson lighthouse engineering family.^[2]

Construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1859. The total cost was £6,500, equivalent to about £6.4 million as at 2024.^[2][a]Calculated using the labour cost of the project.^[3] The lighthouse consists of a brick 34-metre (112 ft) tall cylindrical white washed tower, supporting the lantern and single gallery. It has 158 steps to the top of the tower. Sandstone was used to construct the window and door openings. The architecture of the long keeper’s cottages was criticised in a report from 1861 as looking “more like dog kennels than anything else”.^[4]

Access to the lighthouse has always been difficult owing to its remote location; bringing in supplies and relief keepers was eased by the use of helicopters in the 1980s. Helicopters were also used in the installation of an overhead electricity line to the site in 1981.^[2]

The new supply meant that a sealed-beam electric lighting unit could be installed in 1982, and the light was automated the following year. The keepers were withdrawn and the cottages were sold, now private property. The tower and its light are still operated and maintained by the Northern Lighthouse Board.^[2]