Coordinates: 53.35117°N 3.31911°W
20090703
DSC_02812
20090624
From East to West; New Brighton, The Wirral
There was a Kite Festival on Saturday at New Brighton, so we went with the in-laws to The Wirral to see what was going on.
A throughly enjoyable afternoon made all the better for finding this lighthouse.
The Lens
In 1903, the two tower system was stopped, and a single flashing light used. This has a white flash every 3 seconds and a range of 25 miles. The fog horn gives 2 blasts every 60 second
Coordinates: 49°57′58″N 5°12′07″W
20090612
"Old photo revisited"

"This shot, is one of my faves, I have processed it several times, as it actually was, in Mono, and now this version. it's the Lightnouse at New Brighton in the UK. It is one of those old fashioned seaside towns, that does excellent chips, and candy floss, while you do battle with the sea gulls to keep your food. The main attraction for me was the Lighthouse though, and the long promenade. Also. watching the kids trying to catch things like crabs.
Really like the the vintage feel to the image, old postcard feel.
Love Suzi x"
New Brighton Lighthouse was originally known as Perch Rock Lighthouse, and construction began in 1827. Since 1 October 1973 it has not been in use as a lighthouse, having been superseded by modern navigational technology.
20090602
To the lighthouse
Come up to my lighthouse for I have something I wish to say
It can wait for a moment; well in fact
it can wait all day
I just wanted to bring you up here so you could have the chance to see
the beauty of this situation that
you could share with me
It may seem strange
to talk of love and then lighthouses
It's not strange
to me
Hey
All alone
you and I in our high tower
That's the way
to be
Some laugh at my lighthouse they say it's just an ivory tower
But I don't mind because I know
their envy grows by the hour
See I have a purpose up here to guide the ships upon their way
All this is mine; it could be yours too
what do you say?
My Lighthouse - Pulp
20090428
Happisburgh Lighthouse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Happisburgh Lighthouse | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Happisburgh, Norfolk, England |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) | |
| Year first lit: | 1791 |
| Automated: | 1929 |
| Construction: | Masonry |
| Tower shape: | round |
| Height: | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Focal Height: | 15 m |
| Current lens: | Catadioptric Fixed Lens |
| Range: | 14 nm (26 km) |
| Characteristic: | White group flashing 3 times every 30 seconds |
Built in 1790, orginally one of a pair - the tower is 85ft tall and the lantern is 134ft above sea level. The 'low light' which was discontinued in 1883 was 20ft lower and the pair formed leading lights marking safe passage around the southern end of the treacherous Haisborogh Sands.
Today the lighthouse is painted white with three red bands, and has a light charcteristic of Fl (3) W 30s (3 white flashes, repeated every 30secs) with a range of 18 miles.
20090401
Light House Media Centre
Light House aims to increase the enjoyment and understanding of technologically - based media, in particular film, video, photography and creative media and to emphasise their importance to the cultural, social and economic life of Wolverhampton, the West Midlands and further afield.
HISTORY
Today Light House inhabits larger, partly-purpose-built accommodation, is an independent company and employs the equivalent of over 30 full time staff. There are still production courses, new exhibitions, films, educational activities, conferences and events. In addition, there are two major annual festivals and a myriad of activities that develop and support the growing creative industries in the City and region. The emphasis is still on giving opportunities for active involvement for everyone. Light House has held to its original mission, increasing the enjoyment and understanding of different media forms and using them for the benefit of the people of Wolverhampton and beyond. Along the way there has been support and encouragement from very many individuals and organisations. With their continued support, Light House will play an increasingly important part in the social, cultural and economic life of the City and the wider region into the future.
LIGHT HOUSE FUNDERS
A non-profit making organisation Light House is funded and supported by Wolverhampton City Council, Learning Skills Council, Arts Council West Midlands, UK Film Council, Screen West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands, Skillset and the University of Wolverhampton.
The Needles
The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, England, close to Alum Bay. A lighthouse designed by Scottish civil engineer James Walker has stood at the western end of the formation since 1859.[3]
The formation takes its name from the former fourth[4] needle-shaped pillar called Lot's Wife that used to stand in its midst until it collapsed in a storm in 1764.[5][6][7] The remaining rocks are all short and squat and not at all needle-like, but the name has stuck.
The Needles were featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the South.
from en.wikipedia.org
Position 50° 39'.70 N O1° 35,42 W
The Needles Photography Don French
© Isle of Wight Tourism
Christmas 1993 Needles Lighthouse
Belle Tout lighthouse
The Belle Tout lighthouse (also spelled Belle Toute lighthouse) is a decommissioned lighthouse and famous British landmark located at Beachy Head, East Sussex. It has been called "Britain's most famous inhabited lighthouse" because of its striking location and use in film and television.[1] In 1999, the Grade II listed building was famously moved in one piece to prevent it from succumbing to coastal erosion.
Beachy Head saw numerous shipwrecks in the 17th and early 18th centuries and a petition to erect a lighthouse started around 1691.[2] The calls were ignored for over 100 years until The Thames, an East Indiaman, crashed into the rocks of Beachy Head. The petition gained momentum with the support of a Captain of the Royal Navy and Trinity House, the official lighthouse authority, agreed to attend to the matter.[3] Having witnessed the incident himself, John 'Mad Jack' Fuller, MP for Sussex, used his influence and some of his personal wealth to fund the lighthouse construction.[4]
The first Belle Tout lighthouse was a temporary wooden structure that started service on 1 October 1828. The construction of the permanent granite lighthouse began in 1829 and it became operational on 11 October 1834. Its use of 30 oil lamps meant that the lighthouse would require 2 gallons of oil every hour.[3]
Coordinates: 50°44′18″N 0°12′52″E / 50.7382°N 0.2145°E
- Circa 1691 petitions for a lighthouse were made due to the number of shipwrecks and sailors losing their lives at the hands of this dangerous stretch of coastline.
- In 1828 as a continuing result of many shipwrecks, a wooden lighthouse was built on the top of the cliffs at Beachy Head. So successful was this that the decision was made to build a permanent lighthouse.
- Belle Toute was built in 1832 and the location of the lighthouse was carefully planned so that the light was visible for 20 miles out to sea and that the light would be obscured by the edge of the cliff if sailors were too close to the shore.
- Over the years erosion of the cliff reduced the effectiveness of the lighthouse and in 1902 Belle Toute was decommissioned when the new lighthouse built at the base of the cliffs came into service.
- In 1903 it was sold by Trinity House and changed hands a number of times.
- In 1923 it was bought by a surgeon, Sir James Purves-Stewart.
- During the second world war with its owners being evacuated, Belle Toute was damaged due to shelling by Canadian Troops using it as target practice.
- In 1948 Sir James offered the building to the council and eventually they took it over due to its historical significance.
- In 1956 Belle Toute was leased out to Dr Edward Revill Cullinan who carried out works on the building and installed modern features such as septic tank, mains electricity and water.
- In 1962 the lease was sold and changed hands a number of times.
- In 1986 it was bought by the BBC who used it in the making of Fay Weldon’s “Life and Loves of a She-Devil”.
- In 1996 it was bought by Mark and Louise Roberts to use as a family home.
- In 1999, due to continuing erosion threatening the future of the building the lighthouse was moved 17 metres (56 feet) back from the edge of the cliff by the impressing engineering work of Abbey Pynford.
- In 2007 the Roberts' have put Belle Toute up for sale with the guide price of £850,000.
- In 2007 the Belle Toute Lighthouse Preservation Trust has been formed to raise enough money to purchase the lighthouse to open it to the public, provide bed and breakfast accommodation and maintain it for future generations of visitors to enjoy.
- In April 2008 Belle Toute was purchased by the Belle Toute Lighthouse Company Limited with the intention of opening it to the public as a bed & breakfast and tourist centre.
- In May 2008 the Belle Toute Lighthouse Preservation Trust wound-up although the Belle Toute Lighthouse Preservation Society has been formed to allow the previous members retain a watchful interest over this magnificent building. The website will be kept updated as an information resource.
It is important to recognise that averages are based on the middle value of a series of figures, although these figures are based on what has happened rather than what yet will happen. For example if within 100 years there was 50m of cliff that disappeared then the average is .5m per year, however, we know that falls can precede the average, i.e. that in 10 years there might be a cliff fall of just 1mm but in the next 10 years there might as much as 9m go, yet over the 20 year period the average might still only be .5m. Therefore it is very difficult to say when the next fall will be although it could be substantially larger than what is expected to be the average.
from www.belletoute.org.uk
Google Map
20081231
Faro
Containing room for nothing more than the uninhabited 45 metre tall lighthouse, the rock acts as the barrier between Great Britain and the Atlantic Ocean.[citation needed] The original lighthouse was begun in 1847, but was washed away before it could be completed. The present building was completed in 1858 and was first lit on 1 September of that year.
Bishop Rock is also the eastern end of the North Atlantic shipping route used by ocean liners in the first half of the 20th century, the western end being the entrance to Lower New York Bay. The ship with the fastest time (in either direction) between a line of longitude running through Bishop Rock and the end point at the approach to New York Harbor (first Sandy Hook, New Jersey and later Ambrose Light) claimed the "Blue Riband" for the fastest crossing. (more)
20071018
Gibbs Light (Bermuda)
Originally uploaded by coolskipper.
20070903
4 lights
Originally uploaded by calum57.
by Fred Fox
Light Established
1875
Engineer
David & Thomas Stevenson
Position
Latitude 54° 02.3’N
Longitude 04° 50.2’W
Character
Flashing White every 5 Secs
Elevation
38 metres
Nominal Range
21 miles
Structure
Granite tower 44 metres high.
On 13 November 1866 the Board of Trade forwarded a copy of one of the resolutions come to unanimously by the Committee appointed by the Mercantile Service Association of Liverpool to consider the subject of lighting the St George's channel. It was to the effect that "The night light on Calf of Man now so often enveloped in fog and so rendered useless, to be removed to the Chicken Rock which is one mile and a half out and is a rock of considerable size and great danger".
This was remitted to David Thomas Stevenson, Engineer to the Commissioners, who agreed in his report on the subject on 22 October 1867. The matter was referred to Trinity House, who wrote on 21 November 1867 to the Board of Trade recommending the proposal. Trinity House emphasised that "the Calf of Man Lights were not to be depended upon from the well known prevalence of fog on the Calf even when other high lands are clear", and that, as a result at the distance of 8 miles they were insufficient to warn vessels of their proximity to Langness. A light on the Chicken Rock would be of great assistant to Mariners navigating East, West and North of the Isle of Man.
On 6 April 1868 sanction to proceed was given by the Board of Trade. However, it was not until 6 June 1873 that the last stone of the tower was laid.
On 29 April 1873 the Board of Trade conveyed to Trinity House their statutory sanction to the proposal that "the character of the light now in course of erection as Chicken Rock should be revolving of the natural colour and attain its greatest brilliancy every half a minute and further to the requisite arrangements for throwing from the same lighthouse a red sector of the light to mark the path round Langness Point. These arrangements can be carried out either by fixing an auxiliary condensing apparatus, consisting of small holophotes at the rear of the main apparatus, in the lantern of the Lighthouse or by some other method, which the optical skill of Messrs Stevenson may advise".
There was considerable correspondence and disagreement between D T Stevenson and Trinity House regarding the proposal to show a red arc from Chicken Rock to make a track round Langness Point and to fit ten holophotes in the lightroom. Mr Stevenson argued that the red arc would be useless in hazy weather, that there would be out of superficial reflections, poor ventilation and the revolving plane would be out of centre in the Lightroom. Trinity House refuted these objections and stated difficulties could be overcome by using a larger lantern with main apparatus in centre and by using Calzo Oil instead of paraffin. Under protest the red arc and auxiliary apparatus were fitted. However, experiments were carried out which confirmed Mr Stevenson's opinions and when the Chicken Rock Light was exhibited for the first time on 1 January 1875, it was without the red auxiliary and with the use of paraffin instead of Calzo.
The Commissioners, having inspected Chicken Rock Light and the Shore Station at the Calf of Man in 1875, recommended that the shore station be removed to Port St Mary, where the boatman can crew lived.
Over and above nothing could grow in the gardens "for legions of rats".
A fog signal was added about 1890.
On the night of 23 December 1960 the lighthouse was seriously damaged internally by fire and during 1961 detailed consideration was given to the problem of the future status of the station and the provision of navigational aids generally in the area.
The proposal for a major light and fog signal on the Calf Man was included provisionally in the Engineer's new Works in September 1961 and the Commissioners subsequently agreed that the matter be referred to the Shipowners through this Advisory Committee for consideration. The Secretary of the Committee later reported a substantial majority in favour of the proposal subject to a number of conditions including the addition of a form of automatic fog on the Chicken Rock.
The light was automated in 1961.
port ellen lighthouse, islay
Originally uploaded by Glamgirl.
20070822
Model of the lighthouse
Originally uploaded by Paranoidfromsuffolk.
St. Mary's Lighthouse is on the tiny St. Mary's Island, just north of Whitley Bay on the coast of North East England. The small rocky tidal island is linked to the mainland by a short concrete causeway which is submerged at periods of high tide.
While it no longer functions as a working lighthouse, it is easily accessible (when the tide is out) and is open to visitors and has a small museum, a visitor's centre, and a cafe.
The lighthouse and adjacent keepers' cottages were built in 1898 by the John Miller company of Tynemouth, using 645 blocks of stone and 750,000 bricks. It was built on the site of a monastery where a small sanctuary light would have acted as a guide to passing ships. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1984.