Lundy North Lighthouse

Lundy North Lighthouse stands at the north-west tip of Lundy, a granite island six miles long in the Bristol Channel. The 17-metre tower was built in 1897 by Trinity House to replace the older fog-bound light higher on the island. Its focal plane is 48 metres above sea level, giving a clear beam across the shipping lanes. The keepers’ houses and engine room sit close to the cliff edge, facing the Atlantic swells. A narrow track winds down from the island’s plateau to the lighthouse, passing heather and seabird colonies. The site is exposed to strong westerly winds, so every structure is bolted to the rock. The North Lighthouse was once called the most advanced in the world. Its first optic used a four-panel lens on a mercury trough, the first such support in Britain. A triple-mantle petroleum burner lit the lamp until the 1920s, when diesel engines took over. The original fog siren gave four blasts every two minutes through curved horns, powered by two 12-kilowatt oil engines. Later upgrades included a 12-inch siren and, in 1969, electric fog signals with 72 Tannoy speakers. In 1971 the light switched to electricity, and in 1985 it became fully automated. Visitors reach the lighthouse along a short path from the island’s road. The white-painted tower and engine house sit against a backdrop of gorse and sky. Inside the lantern room a small modern beacon flashes every fifteen seconds, visible for thirty-five kilometres. The old fog horn building still carries its curved stack of speakers, now silent. From the cliff edge there are views north to the Welsh coast and south along Lundy’s rugged west shore. The contrast between the historic engine house and the automated lantern shows how the lighthouse has kept pace with technology while guarding these waters.