Lighthouse of the Week, January 14-20, 2018: Beachy Head, England

There are picturesque lighthouses around the world, but there are also outstanding ones that show up not just in a few pictures, but in lots of pictures, on postcards, in calendars, in fine art books, in collections of pictures of lighthouses...

Beachy Head Lighthouse is one of those. Situated directly below some of England's white cliffs on the English Channel (in fact the highest white cliff in all England), built such that it is normally surrounded by water except during the lowest of tides, Beachy Head offers the lighthouse photographer a huge variety of options.  The cliffs are impressive, the ocean is wide, and the lighthouse is classically red-and-white striped.

Here's the basics, from the Lighthouse Directory:


"1902. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); two white flashes, separated by 4 s, every 20 s. 43 m (141 ft) tapered round granite tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a square concrete pier. Lighthouse painted white with a broad red horizontal band; lantern is also red. Fog horn (blast every 30 s)."

"Rarely is such a large lighthouse so dwarfed by its surroundings. In January 2010 Trinity House proposed to deactivate this light, but following opposition from local boaters it agreed in May to continue the light at reduced power (the new range is listed as 15 km (9 mi))."

So why was it built there? For that, we turn to Wikipedia, the entry for Beachy Head.

"The headland was a danger to shipping. In 1831, construction began on the Belle Tout lighthouse on the next headland west from Beachy Head. Because mist and low clouds could hide the light of Belle Tout, Beachy Head Lighthouse was built in the sea below Beachy Head."

There's a separate Beachy Head Lighthouse entry on Wikipedia, too.

If you're wondering where it is, it's just slightly east of due south of London.  The nearest town is Eastbourne, and Brighton is just up the coast to the west.   Calais, in France, is just a bit north of due west on the French coast.

And now for a few pictures.  As noted before, these are only a few of many.

Great view of Beachy Head

by Steve Ashman