Inchkeith

Inchkeith
Scottish Gaelic nameInnse Coit
Meaning of namewooded island or Coeddi's island
Location
Inchkeith
Inchkeith shown within the Firth of Forth
OS grid referenceNT293826
Coordinates56°02′00″N 3°08′06″W / 56.033333°N 3.135°W / 56.033333; -3.135
Physical geography
Island groupIslands of the Forth
Area22.9 hectares (57 acres)
Highest elevation60 m
Administration
Council areaFife
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
References
Inchkeith Lighthouse
Inchkeith Lighthouse
LocationInchkeith
Fife
 Scotland
 United Kingdom
Coordinates56°02′00″N 3°08′12″W / 56.033232°N 3.136643°W / 56.033232; -3.136643
Constructed1804
Constructionstone tower
Automated1986
Height19 metres (62 ft)
Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to a 2-storey keeper’s house
MarkingsOchre tower and building, black lantern
OperatorForth Ports PLC
Fog signalOrg. 2 blasts of 3.5s. every 90s. Replaced in 1958 4 blasts of 1.5s. every 60 s. Decommissioned c. 2004
Light
Focal height67 metres (220 ft)
Light sourcediesel engines
Intensity269,280 candela ?
Range14 nautical miles [26 km]
CharacteristicFl W 15s 67m 14M
[Fl. 0.4s-14.6s]

Inchkeith (from the Scottish Gaelic: Innis Cheith) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area.

Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh, its strategic location for use as a home for Inchkeith Lighthouse, and for military purposes defending the Firth of Forth from attack from shipping and more recently protecting the upstream Forth Bridge and Rosyth Dockyard. Inchkeith has, by some accounts, been inhabited (intermittently) for almost 1,800 years.