North of Stranraer the Rhins narrows to a final rocky point — Corsewall — where Robert Stevenson built a lighthouse in 1817 to guide ships into Loch Ryan and up towards the Clyde. It is one of the earlier Stevenson lights, and it still works.
The light is automatic now, and the keepers' cottages and outbuildings have been converted into a hotel, so this is one of the small number of Scottish lighthouses you can actually sleep at. Non-residents cannot go into the tower.
The point
The point itself is free, and it is the reason to come. It is wild, low, rocky and completely exposed, and it faces north-west up the North Channel. On a clear day you can see Ailsa Craig, Arran, the Mull of Kintyre and the coast of Ireland — and because almost nobody comes here, you will very likely have it to yourself.
It is a serious sunset spot. There is nothing between you and the Atlantic weather, which is either the attraction or the problem depending on the day.
Getting there
Narrow single-track roads north of Stranraer through Kirkcolm — slow going, with passing places, and not obvious. Allow longer than the distance suggests, and take care in the dark.
It is a considerable way from Girvan — reckon on the far side of an hour and a half — so it belongs on a full Rhins day rather than a detour. Pair it with Stranraer, Portpatrick and, at the other end of the peninsula, the Mull of Galloway — which is the more visited of the two lighthouses, and the one with an exhibition and a café.
See the Stranraer and the Rhins day trip.
