{"id":4742,"date":"2019-10-31T14:25:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T14:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/?p=4742"},"modified":"2024-09-24T09:05:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T09:05:57","slug":"interesting-lighthouses-in-the-solent-region-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/interesting-lighthouses-in-the-solent-region-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Interesting Lighthouses In The Solent Region And Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it is a welcome beacon of light after a difficult voyage or a much-loved landmark every sailor has their favourite lighthouse. They are essential to our safe passage and although few around the world are manned, they still give the impression that someone is there, looking out you.<\/p>\n

Below is a pick of lighthouses from the Solent region and UK waters.<\/p>\n

Calshot Spit Light Vessel 78<\/h2>\n
\"Calshot<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you know that an airport is called an airport due to the first passenger planes were seaplanes? In fact, the first continental ticket office was in Southampton.<\/p>\n

Officially not a lighthouse but still a much-loved part of Southampton\u2019s maritime history, the Calshot Spit Light Vessel 78 is currently waiting for a much grander home as part of a museum but recently renovated it can currently be found in Trafalgar Dock.<\/p>\n

Calshot Spit is a bank of shingle at the entrance to Southampton Water and when this vessel was built in 1914 she had a pioneering, revolving light on top of her mast and used to guide the flying boats to their berths. It is one of the last lightships in the world.<\/p>\n

Photo By Dashers at English Wikipedia<\/a>
\nRead more at Yachting Monthly<\/a><\/p>\n

Hurst Castle (western end of the Solent)<\/h2>\n
\"Hurst<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve taken part in the Fastnet Race<\/a> or Round the Island<\/a> then Hurst Castle will be well known to you.<\/p>\n

On the western mouth of the Solent and finished in 1544 as part of Henry VIII\u2019s coastal<\/a> defence network, there is also a Castle at Calshot.<\/p>\n

The first of four lighthouses arrived in 1786, the current \u2018High\u2019 one was opened in 1867 the Low Lighthouse is mounted on the wall of the West Wing.<\/p>\n

Photo by Ian Stannard from Southsea, England<\/a><\/p>\n

Eddystone Lighthouse<\/h2>\n
\"Eddystone<\/div>\n

The history of lighthouse construction can be found in the stories behind the Eddystone and also how dangerous it was in those early years.<\/p>\n

The first one was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703 taking with its creator\u00a0\u00a0Henry Winstanley\u00a0and five colleagues. More information can be found on the Wikipedia page which states:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current structure is the fourth to be built on the site. The first and second were destroyed by storm and fire. The third, also known as\u00a0Smeaton’s Tower, is the best known because of its influence on\u00a0lighthouse design\u00a0and its importance in the development of\u00a0concrete\u00a0for building. Its upper portions have been re-erected in Plymouth as a monument.\u00a0The first lighthouse, completed in 1699, was the world’s first open ocean lighthouse although the\u00a0Cordouan lighthouse\u00a0preceded it as the first offshore lighthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo by Pline<\/p>\n

Needles Lighthouse (Cornwall)<\/h2>\n
\"Needles<\/div>\n

Not the original position for the lighthouse as the builders preferred the cliff top, but this westerly position at the end of needles became necessary due to fog obscuring the higher lighthouse.<\/p>\n

This is another landmark you\u2019ll pass during the Fastnet Race<\/a> and Round the Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n

photo by grumpylumixuser<\/p>\n

Lizard Point<\/h2>\n
\"Lizard<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The last light you\u2019ll see as you head out into the Atlantic, or on your way to the Fastnet. Built in 1751 by the landowner\u00a0Thomas Fonnereau\u00a0it has two towers and cottages. It has seen all the traditional changes you\u2019d expect through the history of lighthouses and this is now represented by the Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre which is located in the lighthouse engine room, and still features some of the original engines.<\/p>\n

Photo by Sanil Photography – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,<\/a><\/p>\n

Fastnet Rock<\/h2>\n
\"Fastnet<\/div>\n

There is a race to it every two years and if you are lucky you pass it during the day, if not the light guides you around.<\/p>\n

This lighthouse was begun in 1891 it is on a piece of land that has many names. In\u00a0Old Norse\u00a0it is known as Hvasstein-ey, ‘sharp-tooth isle’; Carraig Aonair, “lonely rock” or, because it was the last part of Ireland that 19th-century Irish emigrants saw as they sailed to\u00a0North America, \u201cIreland’s Teardrop\u201d.<\/p>\n

The stones used to build it weighed between 1\u00be and 3 tons and James Kavanagh personally set each one.<\/p>\n

An Irish record was set on 16 October 2017, when a wind gust of 191 kph (119 mph) was recorded at the lighthouse.<\/p>\n

Photo by Anthony Patterson from Cork, Ireland – Fastnet, CC BY 2.0<\/a>,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it is a welcome beacon of light after a difficult voyage or a much-loved landmark every sailor has their favourite lighthouse. They are essential to our safe passage and although few around the world are manned, they still give the impression that someone is there, looking out you. Below is a pick of lighthouses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,35,16,114,278],"tags":[504],"class_list":["post-4742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-to-sail","category-fastnet","category-round-the-island-race","category-sailing-tales","category-solent","tag-lighthouses"],"views":3546,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4742"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6950,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4742\/revisions\/6950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}