Near the Scottish capital is berthed a historic former lighthouse tender which has been named one of the best hotels in the world at the Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards.

Fingal, which is the name of the luxury floating hotel, is located at the Port of Leith near Edinburgh and is beloved by visitors, being ranked as one of the highest-rated places to stay in the UK.

What was a Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouse buoy tender built in 1963 and serving a 30-year career out of Oban on the west coast was converted into a five-star luxury hotel and has been named in the Small and Boutique Hotels category, taking both the first and second spots in the UK and Europe lists.

Tripadvisor described the award as "The Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best title celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel.

"It’s awarded to those who receive a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period. Out of our 8 million listings, fewer than 1% achieve this milestone."

More on the historic vessel 1,342 gross tons, reports Dunfermline Press which served the Northern Lighthouse Board, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) responsible for aids to navigation in the waters of Scotland and the Isle of Man.

In addition, Fingal on occasions to sharing duties with Trinity House, the GLA for England, Wales, and the Channel Islands, and its GLA counterpart in Ireland, the Commissioners of Irish Lights, involved the vessel visit Dun Laoghaire Harbour in 1994.

Afloat will have more on this once-off historic call to the homeport and depot of Irish Lights, whose main function is to provide and maintain aids to navigation around the entire island.