Lighthouses

Lighthouses are structures that are prominent by day and lit at night to help sailors navigate, with complementary roles: to warn them to stay away, or to indicate safe passage and the way into harbour. There must be many thousands of them worldwide, if every harbour light at the end of a breakwater is counted, but this page only describes those with some kind of interior structure that you can visit.

Understand
The very first lighthouse probably began as a daymark, i.e. a prominent structure without a light. This was on the little island of Pharos just off Alexandria in Egypt, where the coast is low and featureless, and you could easily come to grief by sailing into the wrong channel. But that was no help at night or in poor visibility, so circa 300 BC a tower with a light was built, burning sheep hides soaked in olive oil and channelling the light by bronze mirrors. Pharos came to mean the lighthouse itself, and lighthouses in general, and was adapted into other languages (e.g. modern French phare with several meanings). The original tower fell into disuse by the 12th century and its stone was recycled or eaten by coastal erosion.

The ancient and medieval world largely got by with makeshift lighthouses, but sea commerce expanded greatly in the modern period, the loss of ships, lives and cargo escalated, and something better was needed. The golden age of lighthouse building was in the 18th and 19th centuries, with great towers (often heroically constructed in dangerous locations) housing not only equipment but people to tend the light, and whatever they needed to live isolated for weeks or months on end. So it's often these structures that make for the most interesting visits. They have light sources, lenses and shutter mechanisms, emitting a unique identifying pattern of flashes. They have stoves and bunks, precarious steps up from the boat landing, and great views from the top over windswept, white-capped waters.

During the 20th century lights became more reliable and compact, and other aids to navigation developed, such as radar, sonar depth-finders, radio telecommunications, radio beacons, and later satellite navigation. Existing lighthouses were made automatic, decommissioned or altogether demolished; new "lighthouse" equivalents were just metal towers festooned with aerials and dishes. Note them from a distance, there's no need to go close, the very point they're there to make. The listings below are sites that you can visit and in some sense "get inside". They may or may not be operational – if they are, visits may be suspended at short notice for maintenance. Openings may be at routine hours or on special occasions or highly dependent on the weather. If there's a tricky access by boat or cliff path, getting there is half the fun, or all the misery as you upchuck your breakfast. Many lighthouses are museums, but this listing doesn't include museums that simply contain lighthouse artefacts, because just about every coastal museum does so.

Where there was no suitable rock to build a lighthouse upon, lightships were sometimes used. With the invention of screw-pile and later caisson lighthouses, most of these became obsolete. Lightships are included below, where these can be boarded. A few act as museums in harbours.

See
The entries below just give basic details of location, facilities and access. See the linked destination articles for more about how to get there, opening hours, prices, and what's there.

Finland


Listings from east to north:



Germany




United Kingdom
It's no surprise that so many lighthouses are dotted around the coast of Britain. An island nation that was one of the first countries to industrialise, and to develop overseas colonies, its need for safe sea trade was pressing. Britain sought to "rule the waves" but this claim was challenged: there were continual wars with France, the English Channel was often unsafe for merchant shipping, and if you did chance it by hugging the shore, the Eddystone Rocks lay in wait. Vessels for the Atlantic might prefer to sail the long way round via the tip of Scotland, but this, as the Spanish Armada had discovered, was also dangerous. So lighthouses were essential, which forced the technology to enable their construction: cement that would set underwater made possible the second Eddystone lighthouse of 1755. The great name was Robert Stevenson (1772–1850), who built his first lighthouse at 19, and oversaw fifty years of their construction. So when we think of lighthouses, we think of his classic design, those tapering white or hooped towers flashing from a headland. As iconic as they were practical, they became as symbolic of island Britain as the fluted marble column is symbolic of Ancient Greece.

England


Trinity House operate all lighthouses and lightships in England, Wales and the Channel Isles. See their website for details of access, operational closures, and self-catering accommodation within lighthouses.


 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.
 * Ellesmere Port lighthouse is on shore, joined with the harbourmaster's office. Often called Whitby lighthouse but not to be confused with that town in Yorkshire.

Scotland


The Northern Lighthouse board operates all lighthouses around Scotland and the Isle of Man. See their website for access details, operational closures, and self-catering accommodation within lighthouses.


 * on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is operational and you can ascend the tower.
 * on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is operational and you can ascend the tower.
 * on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is operational and you can ascend the tower.
 * on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is operational and you can ascend the tower.
 * on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is operational and you can ascend the tower.
 * on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is operational and you can ascend the tower.

Wales


And see Trinity House link above.





Channel Islands
Alderney: the light guarding the Alderney race is open for viewing, limited Sundays in summer.

Ireland

 * "Hello sailor!" - You can't enter, but a special mention must go to surely the world's campest navigational markers, in Tramore, County Waterford and Rosses Point, County Sligo. Both known as "The Metal Man", they're identical 3 m statues of a sailor in Georgian garb, who points (more like minces) towards the safe navigation channel.

Mexico

 * Faro Punta Langosta on Cozumel island, Quintana Roo - Popular landmark near the cruise ship piers in San Miguel
 * Punta Molas Faro on the north end of Cozumel island, take a boat from the docks in San Miguel
 * - the lighthouse is utilitarian ugly, but sits atop Cerro Creston, a high hilltop with the best views in town. Lands around the lighthouse have been made into a nature park and a glass platform extends out from the hilltop.
 * . The famous leaning lighthouse of the Mayan Riviera, knocked askew many years ago by Hurricane Beulah, it takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'...

California

 * Point Reyes Lighthouse at Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County

Florida


Visiting and photographing Florida lighthouses are celebrated hobbies, and the lighthouses are popular travel destinations, as they are maintained as tourist attractions. National Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is celebrated in the US on the first weekend of August, and International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is celebrated on the third weekend. Many lighthouses are open to the public and amateur radio operators often communicate between them on these days.


 * Egmont Key Light – The Egmont Key Lighthouse lies in Central Florida, in the mouth of Tampa Bay at the opening to the Gulf of Mexico. It is only accessible by boat. There are daily ferries that leave from Ft. Desoto State park. They range in price depending on time and age of the person going.
 * Ponce de Leon Inlet Light – At 175 feet high, this is the tallest lighthouse in Florida, located in the town of Ponce Inlet. The site includes a lighthouse museum.

Maryland

 * Concord Point Lighthouse, Havre de Grace. Built in 1827, the 36-foot high lighthouse looks over the Chesapeake Bay and the Susquehana River.
 * - The light marking Thomas Point Shoal is the last of the Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses to remain at its original location (others have been moved to maritime museums). Tours out to the lighthouse can be arranged through the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

Uruguay




Stay safe
Lighthouses are often on cliff edges which may be unfenced. Keep well back from the edge, bearing in mind that the edge may give way due to erosion.

Some lighthouse islands are accessible only in fine weather; landing can be difficult and dangerous, and unless there is a safe harbour one should get away in time if weather turns rough.

The tower of a lighthouse often has many steep steps. The railings at the top may be designed for adult lighthouse keepers, so be particularly careful if visiting a lighthouse with children.

Don't monkey with the equipment! It's either a valuable museum piece, or operational and the next life it saves might be your own.