Bell Rock Lighthouse

Bell Rock Lighthouse is a sea-washed lighthouse off the coast of Angus in eastern Scotland, erected on a submerged reef to mark a hazardous shipping hazard. Built in the early 19th century, it is historically significant as one of the earliest sea-washed lighthouses.

The lighthouse is noted for its engineering and the dramatic setting of a stone tower built directly on a dangerous reef; the structure itself is the main point of interest. Because it stands on a remote reef it is not a conventional visitor site and practical viewing is from boats or the coastline rather than from the lighthouse interior.

Designed and built under the direction of engineer Robert Stevenson, construction took place in the first decade of the 1800s and the light was first lit in the early 1810s; it has continued as an operational lighthouse since that time. The project was a landmark in marine engineering for sea-washed towers.

Sited on the Bell Rock reef off the Angus coast near Arbroath, the lighthouse marks a long-standing navigational danger in the North Sea and is visible from local coastal viewpoints and from passing vessels.

• Construction and significance: Constructed between 1807 and 1811 by engineer Robert Stevenson, it is the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse and remains an active aids-to-navigation site.
• Access and location: The tower is on a submerged reef off the Angus coast near Arbroath and is not regularly open to the public; access is usually limited to specialist or maintenance visits.