Kjeungskjaer Lighthouse

Kjeungskjaer was built in 1880 on a skerry that is almost entirely covered at high water, so the octagonal red tower appears to stand directly in the sea, and its shape, a lighthouse with living quarters built into the tower itself rather than in separate houses, was chosen because there was no room for anything else. Families lived here, children included, with the rock disappearing beneath them at high tide. It was automated in 1987 and is now protected. Small boats run from Uthaug on the Orland coast in summer, and the building can be booked for overnight stays, which is the way most visitors experience it. The surrounding shallows are an important bird area.

What you actually see

• The octagonal tower - a red lighthouse with living quarters inside it.
• The covered skerry - a rock that vanishes beneath the tower at high tide.
• The keeper's rooms - the interior where families once lived.
• The bird shallows - a protected coastal area around the light.

When to go

June to August, when boats run and overnight stays are available; the crossing is weather-dependent and cancelled in swell. Winter storms make access impossible.

Honest expectations

Access requires a boat arranged in advance, and trips are frequently cancelled by weather. There are no facilities on the skerry beyond the lighthouse itself. Overnight stays are self-catering and basic.

Nearby

Brekstad and Orland are on the mainland; Trondheim lies southeast across the fjord.