Questions, Answered in Turn
The questions readers send most often, each with a plain answer and, where it helps, a pointer to the chapter that files the full account.
What is the difference between a beacon and a lighthouse?
A beacon is any fixed signal or navigation mark, lit or unlit. A lighthouse is a tower or structure carrying a light strong enough to guide vessels over a significant distance. Every lighthouse is a kind of beacon, but most beacons are not lighthouses. See Chapter One.
Which is the oldest working lighthouse?
The Tower of Hercules at A Coruña, Spain, is generally cited as the oldest Roman lighthouse still in use. Hook Head in County Wexford, Ireland, is among the oldest operating lighthouses of medieval origin.
Are any lighthouses still staffed by keepers?
Every lighthouse in the United Kingdom and Ireland was automated by 1998. A small number of stations elsewhere, notably in British Columbia and Newfoundland in Canada, still have resident staff. See Chapter Three.
Who runs lighthouses in the UK and Ireland?
Trinity House covers England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar; the Northern Lighthouse Board covers Scotland and the Isle of Man; the Commissioners of Irish Lights cover the whole island of Ireland.
What is a Fresnel lens?
A lens made of concentric rings of prisms rather than one thick piece of glass, devised by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1822 and first installed at Cordouan in 1823. It gathers far more light into a beam. See Chapter Two.
What is a light's character?
The pattern of flashes, eclipses and colours that identifies a light at night, written on charts in a short code such as Fl(2) 10s, meaning two flashes repeated every ten seconds.
Why are lighthouses painted in stripes or bands?
The paint scheme is a daymark. Distinct colours and patterns let mariners identify a tower in daylight, just as the light's character identifies it at night.
Do lighthouses still matter now that ships use satellite navigation?
Yes. Satellite signals can fail or be jammed, and smaller craft may carry limited equipment. Lights provide an independent visual check, so authorities keep many in service.
Can I climb inside a lighthouse?
Many lighthouses open to visitors as museums or on seasonal tours. Check the operator's opening days, stair counts and age or height limits before travelling. See Chapter Four.
What is International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend?
An annual event on the third full weekend of August when amateur radio operators set up stations at lighthouses and lightships worldwide. Visitors are generally welcome to watch.
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