On August 1st, 1786, the first steps were taken towards erecting the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse. On that day there was a meeting of "Commissioners or Trustees for erecting four lighthouses in the Northern parts of Great Britain, one at Kinnairds Head in the county of Aberdeen, one on the island of North Ronilsha in the Orkneys, one on the point of Scalpa in the island of Herries, and a fourth on the Mull of Kintyre." This was the beginning of the work of the Commissioners of the Northern Lights, and it is from their minutes and account books, which were kindly made available, that this account has been compiled.

In that summer of 1786 there were already in existence the Tay Lights, and a light on the Island of May. By 1787 Mr. Thomas Smith had been appointed engineer to the Board, and Mr. Ezekiel Walker, who had erected the lighthouse at Lyme Regis, was paid the sum of 50 guineas for instructing him. Mr. Smith, whose assistant was Robert Stevenson, supervised the construction of the lighthouse on the Mull of Kintyre.

Enquires were made about leasing approximately two acres for lighthouse and garden, and by January 22nd, 1787, letters had been received from the Duke of Argyle and from his Chamberlain, and the Provost of Campbeltown, "the last two containing particular descriptions of the places most proper for a lighthous on the Mull of Kintyre." The meeting on January 22nd resolved that, "the Provost of Campbeltown be empowered as one of the Trustees and requested to take the proper steps relative to erecting a proper lighthouse and to procure estimates and provide materials for that purpose and to inform him that the precise dimensions and a plan will be sent to him."

So in six months since the first meeting and decision to erect four lighthouses, an engineer had been appointed, negotiations over the lease of the land had begun, and the task of getting the operation of building underway entrusted to Provost Maxwell of Campbeltown. But there were still considerable problems to be surmounted. The meeting of the Trustees on August 30th, 1787, heard that the Provost had informed "no person in that County could be got for building the lighthouse on the Mull of Cantyre and proposed to advertise for a contractor - which was not done as no stranger could be supposed to contract for building in a place so difficult of access and so remote unless at a very extravagant sum and it was thought it would be better to send workmen from this place to excute it." The Duke of Argyle agreed to give a charter of the ground "for payment of 5/- per annum on condition of its being enclosed and that the keeper shall keep no dog." This prohibition was no doubt part of the process of turning the Mull into a sheep-walk, but it was to cause protest in the future.

On 20th August, 1787, three masons were accordingly sent from Edinburgh to Campbeltown, George Shields ( who also erected the tower at Pladda ) as the man in charge, and John and William Purdie as his assistants. George Shields was to be paid 4/2 per day, and the other two 3/- per day. The stores and material were all landed six miles away from the site of the lighthouse, and transported by horseback with one hundredweight as the limiting load and a single journey from the landing place to the lighthouse representing a day's work, and a hard day's work it must have been. This account of the journey is from an obituary written on the death of Mr. Matthew Harvey in 1867. "The isolated position of the Light House at the Mull of Cantyre made it difficult of access. It is over 16 miles from Campbeltown and the last 5 of these are over a rugged mountain without a track. There were indeed many tracks, so that in making your way to it, you had to steer for a particular "gap" in the mountain of which you lost sight now and then, as you descended or rose over the hilly ground that lay between." The road today is metalled, but it still goes through the Gap, now a familiar place-name. However, for many years after the lighthouse was built, the stores were carried from Carskiey or Southend on the backs of horses and it was not until between 1830 and 1840 that a bridle track, 4ft 3ins wide, was made by the Commissioners from the lighthouse to Glemanuilt. In 1841 a feu contract from McNeill of Carskiey and a right of access from Carskiey to Glemanuilt by a road which was made about 1848. In 1929, the contract for bringing stores from Campbeltown to the Mull was given to John McLean, and Carskiey was no longer used for unloading.

Whether or not they found the task daunting, George Shields and his men must have wasted little time, because by 16th November, 1787, the Trustees had had a letter from Provost Maxwell saying that the lighthouse was ready for the lantern to be hung. They resolved, however, "to delay hanging the lantern till the spring due to the shortage of the days and the expenses of taking other tradesmen from Edinburgh.