Toward Signal Station

A signal station was located to the west of Toward Lighthouse during World War II, some eight miles south of Dunoon.

The area of the Firth of Clyde to the south of the lighthouse was then in use as an Examination Anchorage, where all vessels were stopped and inspected before being allowed to continue further and reach the numerous facilities based around the Clyde coast. Instructions were sent by Aldis lamp from the signal station on the shore. If the vessel did not stop as requested, the signal station would send a message to nearby Toward Battery, who would then fire a warning shot across its bow. This tended to have the desired effect. A resident of the time recalls that the battery's guns "were always popping off", so the requirement to gain the master's attention was not uncommon. Presumably they were eager to make their way to the head of the firth and pass into the relative safety of the area behind the Cloch boom.

After the war the signal station was converted into a private house and the name changed, but in 2006, the current owner changed the name to The Old Signal Station.

Aldis lamps remained in service until 1997, but were probably more for show than routine communication.