Add our 10 Lighthouse Visitor Centres to your bucket list. The UK has some spectacular lighthouses that, due to their nature, are often in beautiful remote locations.
10 of these lighthouses are open to the public and offer an opportunity to see the spectacular locations and the unique life that lighthouse keepers used to experience. Nowadays, our lighthouses don’t have keepers but are fully automated, but each of these 10 lighthouses has an informative guided tour, complete with great views from the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse.
The 10 lighthouses are listed in alphabetical order below.
Alderney Lighthouse, Guernsey
Alderney Lighthouse was built in 1912 to guide passing ships and to warn vessels of the treacherous waters around the Isle. It is situated on Quénard Point, to the northeast of the Island.
Flamborough Lighthouse, East Riding of Yorkshire
A lighthouse was first established at Flamborough by Sir John Clayton in 1669, although the present lighthouse was designed by architect Samuel Wyatt in 1806.
Lizard Lighthouse, Cornwall
The distinctive twin towers of the Lizard Lighthouse mark the most southerly point of mainland Britain. The coastline is particularly hazardous, and the need for a beacon was obvious from early times.
Longstone Lighthouse, Northumberland
You will need to sail out to this isolated lighthouse in the rugged Farne Islands, but you will also get to see the seal colonies.
Nash Point Lighthouse, Vale of Glamorgan
Located in spectacular south Wales, Nash Point Lighthouse has two circular towers, the eastern or high lighthouse being 37 metres high and the western or low lighthouse 25 metres high.
Portland Bill Lighthouse, Dorset
Portland Bill Lighthouse guides vessels heading for Portland and Weymouth through these hazardous waters around Portland Bill and Chesil Beach.
South Stack Lighthouse, Isle of Anglesey
South Stack Lighthouse is situated near the northwest tip of Wales; the tiny islet known as South Stack Rock lies separated from Holyhead Island.
Southwold Lighthouse, Suffolk
Southwold Lighthouse is a coastal mark for passing shipping and guiding vessels into Southwold Harbour. The lighthouse is unlike the others on this list as it is not on a remote cliff but located near the centre of the seaside resort of Southwold.
Start Point Lighthouse, Devon
Start Point is one of the most exposed peninsulas on the English Coast, running sharply almost a mile into the sea on the South side of Start Bay near Dartmouth.
This was our top 10 lighthouses with a visitor centre. Why not explore all of the UK lighthouses on our UK Lighthouse map?
If you have been to any of these lighthouses or the many others that are not open to the public, we would be very interested in seeing your photos or getting your opinions. Just leave a comment here or drop us a picture on our Coast Radar Facebook page