Lovely Lighthouses worth Sailing the Seas to See

Tourlitis Lighthouse photo by r/Lighthouses (Reddit)

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There is something so romantic about a lighthouse; the isolation, the dramatic setting, braving the waves in the name of heroic duty, providing hope & direction, a promise of safety in the storm... (For some they conjure fear & loneliness, as epitomized in the horror masterpiece THE LIGHTHOUSE* - but even nightmares posses a dark romantic appeal.)

Add to all that charming architecture of quaint little towers or cottages & beautiful coasts and it’s no wonder lighthouses hold a special place in our collective imitations. (My best friend's mother is absolutely obsessed with them!) There is an entire breed of enthusiast called Lighthouse Baggers that travel specifically to visit & 'bag' lights.*

*A kind of pharologist Pokémon "collect them all" in which there is great debate about what constitutes 'a bag'; does one have to enter the lighthouse for it to be considered bagged? Is any physical contact, even of just the exterior, sufficient? Or, with so many houses practically inaccessible, is an in person visual sighting enough?

”Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for

           boats to save; they just stand there shining.”

-Anne Lamott

In antiquity, before the development of lighthouses or defined ports, bonfires built on hilltops were used to guide mariners. They were often elevated to improve visibility, first by raising burning wood or coals in iron baskets on poles and then higher on platforms leading to the development of constructed 'houses' for the lights.

The earliest reference to these beacons is Homer's Iliad c1200 BC. At the time, these lights were more entrance markers to safe docking ports than warning signals.

The oldest known (& possibly 1st ever) proper lighthouse was the Pharos of Alexandria built by the Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom in 280 BCE. One of the wonders of the ancient world according to Antipater of Sidon, somewhere between 390 - 450 feet high (≈120- 137m,) it was the tallest man-made structure for centuries. 

Sadly, the Alexandria Pharos was lost to earthquakes by the 14th century, but it served as a prototype for all future lights, like the ones below - the most unique & stunning Lighthouses in the world...

1 - My Personal FAVORITE Pharos

Chania Lighthouse -  Crete| Greece   · Late 16th Century   · Height: 85ft (26m)  

One of the oldest in the Mediterranean, it stands watch at the end of the old harbor pier, opposite the Fortress of Firkas. First constructed by the Venetians, it was 'restored' in 1839, as an altered minaret shape. But the more recent restoration in 2006 reverted back to the original Venetian style & materials. The light is no longer in operation but the house itself is artistically lit up, making an enchanting vignette at night. 

Tourlitis Lighthouse -  Andros| Greece  · org; 1897 current; 1990's  · Height: 23ft (7m)   

(Pictured at the top of the post)

The original light was destroyed in WWII, but what made it special was it's pedestal seat on the natural spindly spire, off shore from the castle of port Andros. The tiny island & the winding steps to the tower, cut from the isles weather-worn stone, survived.

The current replica of the Victorian original , was built by an oil tycoon and dedicated to his daughter. Perched on the precarious looking rock outpost in the archipelago & one of the shortest towers in the world, it became Greece’s first automated lighthouse, and is closest thing I have ever seen to a fantasy novel wizard's tower come to life.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse -  Fort Bragg, CA |USA  ·  1908-09  · Height: 32ft (≈10m)   

I stumbled across this picture perfect light on my West Coast Roadtrip (taken to clear my head after my mother died) and it has been my favorite little light ever since - which is why it's featured on Unmoored's home page :)

The active Victorian lighthouse (with it's original classic Fresnel lens,) is a quintessential, quaint cottage design & resides on a rock cliff plateau of coastal prairie grasslands overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's no surprise that it's a popular venue for weddings but it's also the most complete Light-station in the U.S. with 240 gallon saltwater aquarium.

The original 1930's lighthouse keeper's home is a period museum (free admission) & two other restored keeper cottages are now vacation rentals.

Whiteford Lighthouse -  Wales |UK   ·   1865   · Height: 44ft (≈13.5m)   

Accessible only at low tide, this lonely wave-washed tower at Whiteford Point, is the last cast-iron lighthouse of its kind left in all of Great Britain. 

(Listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.)

Tien Sa Lighthouse  -  Danang | Vietnam  ·  1902   · Height: ≈50ft (15.6m) 

Constructed by the Victorian French on the Son Tra Peninsula overlooking the Han River Tien Sa is one of the oldest, and definitely most adorable lights in Vietnam.

The lighthouse has a distinctly French style, with a small gabled entry & contrasting green door; the tiny tower might be the most precious I've ever seen.

Habushi Iwa Beacon  -  Hiroshima, Marugame | Japan  ·  1895   · Height: 49ft (15m) 

On the Habushi-iwa reef, just a kilometer off the south coast of Hiroshima Island, the funny little conical granite block tower has a double gallery and enclosed equipment cabinet between the galleries.

2 - OLDEST Lighthouses in the World

Torre de Hércules (Tower of Hercules) -  Coruña| Spain  · 2nd Century CE  · Height: 187ft (57m)

The oldest known Roman pharos still standing, dedicated to Mars; god of war. Formally known as Farum Brigantium, (from the Greek pharos,) it was modeled after the Lighthouse of Alexandria and may have been built by Roman Emperor Trajan. An inscription on the base credits Gaius Sevius Lupus, from Aeminium (present-day Portugal) as the architect. Unfortunately the light is no longer active.

(The tower was restored between 1788 – 1791, is a National Monument of Spain & UNESCO World Heritage Site & the second-tallest lighthouse in Spain.)

Hook Lighthouse -  Wexford| Ireland  · c1201 -1240   · Height: 115ft (35m)   

The oldest working lighthouse in the world is on the tip of Hook Head. The base column structure of local limestone has existed for 800 years with a missionary, Dubhán, using it as a ship beacon as early as the 5th century.

The light was maintained by monks on the Hook Peninsula until the mid-17th century when lighthouse keepers took over. (It was eventually converted to automatic operation in 1996)

Tours are available, including a climb up 115 steps to the balcony for a stunning view.

Kõpu Lighthouse -  Hiiumaa | Estonia  · 1531   · Height: 118ft (36m)   

The Kõpu Light has been in continuous use on the Hiiu sandbank since it was first lit. Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek approved the building of the stone pillar in 1499; however, construction was stalled due to war, with the majority of the tower’s work not happening until 1514 –1519 and the fire not lit until the fall of 1531.

Boston Light  -  Brewster Island, MA| USA  · org; 1716 current; 1783  · Height: 89ft (27m)   

The original Boston Light was the first lighthouse built in the States before they were

even United. The first light was replaced in 1774 when the British took control of Brewster Island before the start of the American Revolution and used it to block the harbor. The Americans responded by destroying the house to prevent the British from utilizing it, and disabling their ships.

After the war the current light was built (making the 3rd Boston Light the second oldest working lighthouse in the US after Sandy Hook | NJ.) It's automated, but is also the only remaining house actively staffed by the US Coast Guard.

Bell Rock Lighthouse -  Angus , Scotland | UK  · org; 1807 -1810 · Height: 115ft (35m)   

The oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse. (Sea-washed or wave-washed houses are those built in the middle of the sea on very small rock outcroppings or sea-stacks with no real surrounding land. Often the rock foundations are completely covered by water most of the tidal day. This makes them a challenge both to construct & to maintain.) But Bell Rock was designed & built so well, by Robert Stevenson (grandad of famed author Robert Lewis Stevenson,) that despite constant buffeting by the sea for over 200 years, the original tower has not needed to be replaced. (Stevenson was a prolific lighthouse builder, also responsible for the North Queensferry Light Tower.)

The rock reef was named for the legendary warning bell installed on it in the 14th century, (which was infamously stolen a year later by Dutch pirates.*) And because the rock was covered by water for 20 hours a day, the men building the tower had to live on a ship moored a mile away and row back and forth to the rock to work until a beacon house on wooden struts on the reef was completed to use as a working platform.**

* There is a 19th century poem, The Inchcape Rock by Robert Southey about the incident.

** R. M. Ballantyne wrote a novel The Lighthouse (1865) around the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.

3 - CLASSIC Light Towers

Yaquina Head Light -  Newport, OR | USA  · 1873 · Height: 93ft (28m)   

Yaquina Head is so quintessentially lighthouse it was used as Moesko Island Lighthouse in THE RING as well as appearing in HYSTERICAL  &  THE NANCY DREW MYSTERIES TV series.

Made in Paris in 1868 then shipped to Oregon, the tower was once called Cape Foul-Weather Lighthouse (even though Cape Foul-Weather is 4 miles north.) It's the tallest light in Oregon and still utilizes its original 1868 French-made Fixed Fresnel lens.

          (On the National Register of Historic Places) 

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse -  Tierra del Fuego | Argentina  · 1920 · Height: 33ft (≈10m)   

Named for Les Eclaireurs Isles in the Beagle Channel, where it stands, the small brick tower is known to locals as Faro del Fin del Mundo = Lighthouse at the End of the World.* 

The Spanish name translates to = the explorers, enlighteners or the scouts. The light is operational but uninhabited and can be reached via a short boat tour from Ushuaia.

*Not to be confused with Jules Verne's eponymous Lighthouse at the End of the World novel which is a references to

   the San Juan de Salvamento Lighthouse on the remote Isla de los Estados, further east.

Slangkop Lighthouse -  Kommetjie | South Africa  · 1914 / 1919 · Height: ≈108ft (33m)*   

On the beach looking out from the Cape of Good Hope, this elegant cast iron tower was built in 1914 but wasn’t lit until after WWI in 1919.

Slangkop is fully automated, but it's also one of the few houses in the world that is still manned by a lighthouse keeper. Tours allow you to climb the 144 step spiral staircase to the top for magnificent ocean views.

                                                                                                        *some sources list the height as ≈135ft (41m)

4 - PICTURESQUE Settings & DRAMATIC Views

Cape Palliser Lighthouse -  Wellington | New Zealand  · 1897 · Height: 59ft (≈18m)   

The iconic red & white striped 'spark plug' style tower stands at the peak of a 258 step, 190ft (58m) high coastal cliff climb overlooking awe-inspiring views of Cooke Straight.

The cape is on the southern coast of North Island, at the eastern end of Palliser Bay. Named by James Cook in honor of his friend Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, the cape is an important part of Māori history and is featured in their Kupe discovery/ origin legend.

The small Ngawi settlement of the cape is a fishing community specializing in crayfish and the whole area is lovely countryside dotted with heritage sites and known for fine wine & gourmet foods.

Hólmur Lighthouse -  Mykines | Faroe Islands  · 1909   · Height: 39ft (12m)

Mykines is one of the 18 main islands that make up the Faroes, with a population under 25 people! It's light is connected to the remote island by a short footbridge over steep, craggy sea cliffs on the westernmost point of the archipelago, with remarkable views of the surrounding ocean.

During World War II the island & light were frequently attacked by the Germans. The remains of the old war shelters are still scattered about 200 meters from the lighthouse.

A small ferry visits the island, but is weather dependant & the trail to the Light from the

footbridge is closed to tourists. Even with a guide it can only be viewed at a distance.* 

________________

The Kallur Lighthouse, a rustic, red & white shed style lighthouse, on the Faroe Island, Kalsoy also offers stunningly dramatic views.

 Many species of birds including puffins, gannets, fulmars, and kittiwakes are common on the isolated cliffs.

*Many find the cost of a guide & ferry ride more expensive than the distant view is worth

Fánaid Head Light  -  Donegal | Ireland   · 1818 · Height: 90ft (≈27m)   

Overlooking Porsalon on the Fánaid, or Fanad Penninsula, (from the Irish Fána = sloping ground,) the light is part of a larger tourist historic & educational complex.

Once a granite quarry, Fanad is mostly farm land with a small fishing community. In addition to the light, the area boast beautiful climbs like Knockalla Hill and Ballymastocker Bay beach, once voted world's 2nd most beautiful by "The Observer."

Keepers cottages can be rented and the site host events like weddings. The woking lighthouse offers tours allowing a climb to the top for breathtaking views of Lough Swilly.

Neist Point Lighthouse 📷 -  Isle of Skye, Scotland | UK  · 1909 · Height: 62ft (≈19m)   

On the most westerly point of the north of the Isle of Skye the gold & white lighthouse and adjoining cottages are are tucked at the base and behind a high coastal rock cliff so steep it required an elaborate aerial cableway system to move heavy supplies up and down the cliff. (The pulley is still on site and can be seen on the long hike down to the lighthouse complex.)

Neist point is also the best place on Skye to see dolphins, whales, porpoises and basking sharks as well as being home to a number of rare and unusual plant species.

5 - Lone Beacons in REMOTE Corners of the World

Bishop Rock Beacon -  Isles of Scilly | UK  · org; 1847 current; 1858 · Height: 161ft (49m)   

Men Epskop in Cornish (meaning Bishop's Stone,) is  one of the most far removed pharos on the earth and the skerry it's on is also the world’s smallest island.* It stands in the westernmost part of the archipelago, 24 nautical miles (45km) off the shore of southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain.

The island may have gotten it's liturgical name due to it's shape being similar to a Bishop's mitre, and in the 13th century the it was used for exposure executions. Criminals were taken to the bare rock and left to die (with a few loafs of bread, oddly, to be more... humane (?) maybe... )

The archipelago was also the site of the Great Navel Disaster of 1707 where Admiral Shovell & his flagship, HMS Association, were wrecked. Shovell's remains were briefly interned in the Scilly Isles before Queen Anne had them repatriated back to England.

The first light tower built was a lantern on iron legs, but it was never lit, as it washed away in a storm. A second stone version was attempted 1851. And until helicopters were invented, people had to repel down with a winch system from the lighthouse balcony to waiting ships below to leave the island.

*Britain defines an island as land that either (a) is inhabited, or (b) has enough grass for “the summer’s pasturage of at least one sheep” (about two acres.) At only 150 x 52 sqr ft (46m x 16m) - the size of three tennis courts, Bishop Rock didn't qualify until the first keeper moved to the light, making it officially inhabited.

Þrídrangaviti (Thridrangaviti) -  Vestmannaeyjar | Iceland  · 1942 · Height: 26ft (≈8m)   

Þrídrangar means three rock pillars; referring to the 3 sea stacks in the archipelago where the light stands: Þúfudrangur, Klofadrangur & Stóridrangur (on which the lighthouse was built), 4.5 miles (7.2 km) off the southwest coast of Iceland.

The single-story hut is one of the shortest houses in the world, but its demure size is no issue considering the sea stack lifts the light to 112 - 120ft (34-36m) above the ocean, which is part of what makes it one of the most remote on the planet.

Because the location was only accessible by scaling sheer rock cliff, local Westman Island mountaineers where hired for the construction. They brought all drills, hammers, chains etc. up the sea stack by hand, (no machinery could be used.) It's said to lighten their load, workers carried very little food up & supplemented

their diet by gathering seabird eggs from cliffs.

The conditions were so harsh it took 2 years to complete the tiny structure; in part because near the top of the sea stack there was no way to a grip the smooth slippery rock, so one mountaineer would have to get on his knees while a second stood on his back, and a third climbed atop the others to reach the nib of the cliff.

Completed by the start of WWII, the light couldn't be lit yet because the Danish equipment was stuck in German occupied Denmark. Finally supplied by the British the lighthouse was commissioned three years later. A helipad was added in the 50's which is the only access to the light.

Tillamook Rock Light  -  Oregon | USA  · 1881 · Height: 62ft (≈19m)   

Known as Terrible Tilly, the house sits on an isolated basalt rock island about a mile off northern Oregon's shore It's subject to such brutal sea conditions that no local was willing to build the light. Workers not only had to be brought in from out of town, but had to be kept sequestered for the nearly 2 year build so locals couldn't frighten them out of attempting the dangerous work. (At the time, it was the most expensive lighthouse to be built on the US's West Coast.)

After its decommissioning the light was temporarily turned into The Eternity at Sea Columbarium (a repository for ashes of the dead), that jokingly warned interested parties that “their 2nd choice better be to be buried at sea.” The Columbarium is closed now too, but there are still around 40 remains stored on the island.

South Stack Lighthouse  -  Anglesey, Wales | UK   · 1809 · Height: 92ft (≈28m)   

South Stack, called Ynys Lawd = Lord's Island by the Welsh, is a tiny isle ≈980ft (300m) off the mainland coast. It's connected by a narrow footbridge to another isle, Holy Island - which is connected in turn (by road) to a 3rd island to the south, the Isle of Anglesey -which then connects by bridge to Wales on the island of Great Britain.

Today it's surrounded by nature reserve with thousands of seabirds nesting on the cliffs,

but before the first foot bridge to was built in 1828, the only way to reach the island was in a basket suspended from a cable.

Eldred Rock Lighthouse  -  Alaska | USA  · 1906 · Height: 56ft (≈17m)   

In the middle of remote Lynn Canal, Eldred Rock is the oldest light in Alaska & the only house of the original 10 commissioned at the turn of the century that remains standing.

The treacherous waters of the canal have claimed many a ship, the most notorious being the Clara Nevada steamship, which ran aground on Eldred Rock in 1898, burst into flames, sank & claimed 75 lives. It’s believed that hundreds of pounds of gold were also lost, (which have never been recovered.) 

Even after the construction of the octagonal concrete & timber beacon, the waters remained dangerous; in 1910 two assistant keepers were lost on the way to the island.

(Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.)

Battery Point Light  -  Crescent City, CA | USA  · 1856 · Height: 45ft (≈14m)   

Off the northern coast of California the lighthouse stands on a small island outpost only accessible by rocky seabed path at low tide. Local tides rise quickly making the path

disappear without warning, so visitors must be cautious not to get stranded.

One of the oldest in the state, there's a museum attached which tells dramatic tales of what the light has endured; violent storms, and massive waves flooding the house. It even survived the devastating 1964 earthquake that slammed Crescent City with 20-foot tsunami swells. (The lighthouse keepers, watching from above, recorded some of the most harrowing accounts of the event.) 

More than one romance novel has been set at Battery Point and Tim McGraw used it in his "Not a Moment Too Soon" music video.

6 - The TALLEST Tower Lights

Jeddah Light  -  Jeddah| Saudi Arabia  · 1990   · Height: 436ft (≈133m)   

While not a traditional* lighthouse, at almost a 100 feet taller than the next highest light (which is only 352 feet) the sleek but massive, modern Jeddah Light is the tallest light tower in the world. Located at the end of the outer north-side pier of Jeddah Seaport, it's also an observation tower & port control.  

*Traditional lighthouses are defined as structures built by navigation safety authorities primarily to aid navigation. Many structures, like Jeddah, function as lighthouses but are not technical considered as such, as they were not constructed to be lighthouses, per se. The Statue of Liberty is another example of a non-traditional light.

Île Vierge Lighthouse  -  Brittany| France   · 1902  · Height: 271ft (83m)   

The cylindrical granite tower is the second lighthouse built on Île Vierge (Virgin Island) and the tallest traditional lighthouse in  the world, comically dwarfing its neighbor, the

island's original square towered house.

The Island's name (and therefor the lighthouse's) probably comes from a 15th century chapel on the island that is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

(Classified as a Historical Monument) 

Lanterna (Light of Genoa) -  Liguria| Italy   · org; 1128* current; 1543  · Height: 249ft (76m)   

Second tallest traditional light & fifth tallest overall, Lanterna was the tallest lighthouse from the time it was rebuilt all the way through 1902.

The tower has been struck by lightning numerous times, a caretakers even died from a lightning strike in 1481.

A museum, Museo della Lanterna is next to the tower. *some sources put the date at 1161

Phare de Cordouan (Cordouan Lighthouse) -  Gironde| France  · 1611 · Height: 223ft (68m)   

Seven kilometers out to sea on the Cordouan plateau, it's the oldest operating phare

(lighthouse) in France & 10th tallest traditional lighthouse in the world.

Built by Louis de Foix, it's nicknamed Versailles of the Sea, Lighthouse of Kings & King of Lighthouses.

Even before the current tower, small beacon lights were on the islet as early as 880 CE. Edward, the Black Prince built the first proper structured light (when the region was an English province) and ships had to pay 2 groats (old English silver coins) to pass, making it the first known instance of lighthouse fees.

(Classified as a Historical Monument)

7 - SHORTEST Baby Beacons

Berry Head Lighthouse -  Devon, England | UK  · 1906 · Height: 16ft (5m)   

The shortest lighthouse in Great Britain, but paradoxically, also one of the highest, as it sits 190ft (58m) above sea level at the end of Berry Head headland, near Brixham. It was also the deepest at one time, as the optic was originally turned by a weight falling down a 148ft (45m) shaft.

North Queensferry Light Tower -  Fife, Scotland | UK  · 1817 · Height: 23ft (7m)   

The world's smallest working lighthouse with only 24 steps to its top, looks past the Forth Rail Bridge to the ferry crossing between Edinburgh & the Kingdom of Fife.

The tower was designed by Robert Stevenson and a group of students to replace an 1811 lighthouse that wasn't able to light the entire crossing. The new light utilized the Argand lamp from the old light & is currently powered by vegetable oil.

Stevenson, was a renowned Scottish civil engineer, most famous for his earlier listed Bell Rock Lighthouse. He supervised his first lighthouse built at just 19.

North Queensferry has a small accompanying museum and even offers visitor (by appointment,) a chance to light the actual light!

Squirrel Point Light -  Kennebec River, ME | USA  · 1898 · Height: 25ft (7.5m)   

On the southwestern point of Arrowsic Island in the gulf of Maine, the precious octagonal wood frame house has an attached oil house, iron railings a bracketed gallery & red glass lamp-house.

There is also a keepers house, barn and boathouse on the grounds on the banks of the Kennebec River.

(On the National Register of Historic Places)

8 - FORTRESS Inspired Pharos

Kermorvan Light -  Brittany | France  · 1849 · Height: ≈67ft (≈20m)   

The tower fortress sits on the tip of the Point of Kermorvan headland, on the Chenal du Four. It's the most Western land lighthouse in France. Behind the light is a stone 19th century fort that was occupied until 1898, after which it was used as the lightkeeper’s quarters.

The seas around the light are so dangerous the bridge accessing the tower is fitted out with metal bars and loops that people once attached themself to by rope while crossing so they wouldn't be swept off by a rouge wave.

The light was originally powered by a geared rotation system and mercury tank (both still extant.) There's a guard room inside with small kitchenette and four poster bed, that has been turned into a bunkbed by a film crew. The lighthouse was also featured in the French TV miniseries DOLMEN. The light is active but the tower's closed, (the site, however, is open to explore.)

Torre de Cabo de Gracia  -  Tarifa, Cádiz  |Spain  ·  tower; 16th Century   · Height: ≈66ft (20m) 

   Faro de Camarinal / Camarinal Lighthouse  

Built by Felipe II as part of a series watchtowers to protect the Cadiz coast from Berber pirates in the 16th century, the Camarinal tower was later restored & fitted out as a lighthouse in the 1990's.

It's located on the cliffs of the Cabo de Gracia, (Cape of Grace,) part of Estrecho natural park. The nearest town is Zahara de los Atunes.

(Declared a Site of Cultural Interest)

Farol de Felgueiras (Felgueiras Lighthouse) -  Porto | Portugal  · 1886 · Height: 33ft (10m)   

Re-activated in 2021, the old lantern stands at the tip of Felgueiras jetty where the Douro enters the Atlantic and it is frequently pounded by storms.

The unique neoclassical, hexagonal granite tower with red accent features historically used a gas incandescent light & bell. The updated red lantern is now automated and utilizes a foghorn to warn of the river's silting bar.

The light is such an important part of the cities cultural heritage that the Portuguese band Khruangbin released a song named for it in their album A La Sala.

Faro de Bengtskär (Bengtskär Lighthouse) -  Hanko | Finland  · 1906 · Height: 151ft (46m)   

The nearly empty granite island of Bengtskär has never had a population above 32 people (21 of which were children at the time) and yet the island and lighthouse have a full & exciting history. Attacked in both World Wars, a large battle was even fought on the island during the Continuation War* in 1941, when the Russians attacked with the specific goal of capturing & blowing up the lighthouse, but the Finnish successfully defended the light with only minimal damage done.

Today it's a popular tourist attraction, with hotel rooms & a granite sauna inside the fortress-like building.

*A war within a war, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a fought by Finland & Nazi Germany

  against the Soviet Union during World War II.

9 - The Hudson HOUSE Lights

  -  Hudson River, New York & New Jersey | USA  · built between 1826-1915's

There are a total of eight lighthouses left in & along the NY/ NJ Hudson River.

Because several are in the middle of the river itself, some required specialized engineering to erect; like the 1874 Second Empire style Hudson-Athens light which utilized almost 200 wooden pilings driven into the riverbed and a granite pier to hold the house.

Esopus Meadows

The isolation of these mid-river lights on tiny manmade 'island' platforms also meant the keeper hade to live in the lighthouse until the beacons were automated, resulting in a series of stately lighthouse 'homes' dotting the East Coast river.

Hudson - Athens Lighthouse Rondout Lighthouse Saugerties Lighthouse

The inland 1869 Saugerties Lighthouse is now a Museum and romantic Bed & Breakfast.

The other four Hudson River lights are all more traditional, small towers, ranging between 30-56ft in height (≈9-17m).

Sleepy Hollow/ Stony Point Little Red/ Jeffrey's Hook Robin's Reef

Tarrytown Light Lighthouse Lighthouse Lighthouse

10 - UNIQUE (& sometimes LOONY) Lights

Rathlin West Lighthouse  -  Rathlin Island, N. Ireland | UK  · 1919 · Height: 62ft (≈18m)   

An upside-down lighthouse. The unusual design has the island's light at the base of the tower, that it might better shine through low-lying fog.

It doubles as a Seabird Centre & Maritime Museum.

Just 11 miles from Scotland's Kintyre Peninsula, Rathlin also boasts some cool medieval history, as site of refuge for Scotland’s famous king, Robert the Bruce, and may have contributed to steeling Bruce's resolve & wining Scottish independence in 1328.*

*Exiled in 1306 after losing a battle to the English, Robert the Bruce hid in a small cave on Rathlin. The legend goes that exhausted by war he was considering giving up the fight for independence until he noticed a spider toiling to weave a web in the cave. He watched the spider try & fail six times (the same number of times Robert the Bruce had failed to achieve victory) and decided if the spider failed again, he too would give up. But the spider succeeded on the seventh try, so Robert returned to fight, and win, the pivotal Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Seahorse Lighthouse

   -  Miri | Malaysia   · 2001 · Height: 105ft (32m)   

The famous  Coco Cabana of Marina Bay has a lighthouse in the shape of giant seahorse.

Faro de Ajo (Garlic Lighthouse)   -  Cantabria | Spain  · 1930 · Height: ≈53ft (16m)   

The modest light at Cape Ajo (meaning garlic*) was the last lighthouse built in Cantabria. It was fairly unremarkable until the City Council decided to have the plain white tower elaborately painted by local artist, Okuda San Miguel, to promote tourism.

*Local lore says that the name comes from the great quantity of garlic the town's consumed that gave the place a distinct smell

Iho Tewoo Horse Lighthouses  -  Jeju Island | South Korea  · 2009 · Height: ≈39ft (12m)   

On Iho Tewoo Beach, twin lights stand on either side of the breakwater, one red & one white, each shaped like a Jeju pony.* (Though the lantern-house in their heads make them resemble unicorns.)

*Designated as living natural monuments, Jeju horses, known for a short, stocky build & uncanny ability to relate to humans, have been highly favored among Korean royalty for centuries. 

Royal Sovereign Lighthouse  

-  Sussex, England | UK  · 1971 · Height: 118ft (≈36m)   

Off the shore of Eastbourne this light platform & tower is precariously perched like a massive birdhouse on a pillar in the open ocean.

Saint-Tropez Lighthouse   | France  · org; 1866 current; 2001 · Height: 50ft (≈15m)   

The fishing village of Saint-Tropez was first made famous by the painter Paul Signac* who transformed it into a centre of avant-garde art in the 1890's. It was brought to the worlds attention again in 1956 when it was the setting of iconic Brigitte Bardot** film, AND GOD CREATED WOMAN ('Et Dieu... Créa la Femme.') 

It's classic sand-colored stone harbour light with bright red lamp-house has been called simply Red Light, for years. The original tower was destroyed by the Germans in 1944, was reconstructed in 1952 (as a turret concrete version) only to be destroyed again. The current light is a replica of the original, and is sometimes decorated by murals like this one, by French digital artist Miguel Chevalier.

*Several of Signac's Pointillist paintings include the Saint-Tropez lighthouse

**Bardot spent a great deal of time there even after the film and there is now a statue of her near the port.

Oyster Shell Lighthouse  

-  Bow, WA | USA   ·   2010 · Height: 12ft (≈3.7m)

At the Samish Oyster Bar & Shellfish Market of Taylor Shellfish Farms, you can enjoy their fresh shellfish in an outdoor bay picnic area where they have an adorable (decorative) lighthouse covered completely in oyster shells.

(View's great, but word on the web is Oysters aren't worth their high $)

Crown Point Light  -  New York | USA  · 1858 · Height: 55ft (17m)   

The octagonal stone light & attached keeper's home on Lake Champlain were in use into the early 20th century. Now they serve as a memorial to the exploration of the lake by Samuel de Champlain.

Moritzburg Lighthouse  -  Bärnsdorf | Germany  · 1768 · Height: ≈72ft (≈22m)   

Saxony's only lighthouse,  at the end of the Großteich pier, this theatrical light was built not to guide ships, but as a scenic backdrop for the Royal Court's pleasure sailing & later for re-enactments of naval battles for entertainment.*

*The lighthouse, pier & specially built wooden frigates (armed with tiny cannons that fired firework-like shots across their bows,) where all commissioned by Friedrich August III and famously used for the staging of a re-enactment of the 1770 naval battle at Dardanelles of Cesme, (Turkey) where Catherine the Great's Russian fleet defeated the Turks.

Kalibobo Lighthouse  

-  Madang | Papua New Guinea  · 2003 · Height: ≈66ft (20m)   

Built in Madang Harbor to commemorate the New Guinea Coastwatchers who aided the Allies during World War II, the concrete tower resembles a rocket ship.

Oštri Rat* Lighthouse   

-  Zadar | Croatia  · 1869 · Height: 46ft (14m)   

&

Cap Alprech Light  

-  Normandy | France  · 1963 · Height: 52ft (≈16m)   

Both feature the lighthouses' iconic spiral staircases on the outside of their towers.

*Now called Rtina

Chiram Hang Light  - Chiram Island| South Korea  · 2009 · Height: 49ft (15m)   

The Baseball Lighthouse commemorates South Korea's baseball victory & first ever gold medal, won during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The baseball portion of the light is etched with autographs of the players on the winning team.

BONUS Beacons

The MOST POWERFUL LIGHTS

Ailsa Craig Lighthouse - Scotland | UK   · 1886 · Height: 36ft (≈11m)

Has the highest light output in the world with a focal intensity of ≈  2,500,000 candelas*. The light, known as Paddy's Mile Stone, can be seen from the staggering distance of 40 nautical miles away (74 km) under optimal conditions.

Phare de la Jument   -  Brittany | France  · 1856 · Height: 157ft (48m) 

With a focal plane that reaches up to 39 nautical miles (72km) in clear conditions. On a small, rugged island of the coast of France, the light source is a rotating Fresnel lens with a beam intensity of ≈ 1,000,000 candelas.

*measure of light that a source radiates in a given direction: 1 candela ≈ 1/ 200th the brightness of a 50-watt light bulb.

The HIGHEST BEACON in the Word

Te Rerenga Wairua Light   -  North Island | New Zealand  · 1941 · Height: 33ft (10m)

(Cape Reinga Lighthouse)

The highest focal point of any light* is atop the Ngatikuri peninsula headland peaks of North Island, at 545 ft (166m) above where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific.

The tidal race just off the coast, where the two seas crash creating unsettled waters, can be seen from the lighthouse. [ The Māori refer to this as the meeting of Te Moana-a-Rehua = Sea of Rehua (a sacred male) with Te Tai-o-Whitirea = Sea of Whitirea (a sacred female) ]

Reinga is Māori for underworld & Te Rerenga Wairua = the leaping-off place of spirits. Both reference Māori Mythology, where the cape is the point where spirits of the dead leap from - to begin their journey to the underworld

*Measured as elevation above the ocean

Which is your favorite Light? Have you seen a cool Beacon I don't mention? Let me know in the comments below & as always ...

Be sure to check back - I update regularly as I find more gems!

*The 65+ft (20m) lighthouse in the film was specially built for the movie off the Leif Erikson trail in

Cape Forchu  a Canadian fishing community in Nova Scotia.