Round Island Lighthouse

Round Island Lighthouse stands on a small granite islet off the northern tip of the Isles of Scilly. The 19-metre tower, built in 1887, rises from a 35-metre mass of Hercynian granite. Its first optic weighed more than eight tonnes and stood 4.6 metres high. The lighthouse was automated in 1987 and is now powered by solar panels and an LED lamp. Trinity House still owns the Grade II listed tower, though landings are restricted to maintenance crews. The site has a long maritime history. A Bronze Age burial chamber was lost when the lighthouse was constructed. The tower’s original optic used red-tinted glass and ten-wick oil burners to produce a single red flash every thirty seconds. In 1927 it became home to Britain’s first wireless beacon, transmitting the call sign ‘GGG’ in Morse code. The fog siren once sounded four blasts every two minutes, and a pair of Hornsby oil engines drove the compressors until the late 1960s. Visitors cannot land on the island, but the lighthouse remains a landmark against the Scilly skyline. The surrounding seas are known for fierce gales, with winds recorded at 177 km/h. The island is important for breeding seabirds, including European storm-petrels and Manx shearwaters. Botanists have recorded coastal plants such as sea spleenwort and thrift between the buildings and cliff edge. The lighthouse continues to guide vessels with one white flash every ten seconds.