Visitors to Cornwall are not always aware of the dangers posed by the sea. Most come to this part of Cornwall and see the beautiful beaches and cliffs, when the sea is at its most peaceful.

Cornwall does have great weather for the majority of the time, but several times a year bad storms do occur, mainly during the winter. Additionally there are strong tides and currents, which can drive unwary shipping onto the coast or sea reefs out at sea.

Nowadays technology has eliminated many of the dangers. This was not true of the past, especially when one considers that before the eighteenth century, shipping charts were incomplete, and did not even exist for all areas.

The main method employed to overcome coastal dangers are lighthouses. These light sources are located near danger areas such as hidden rocks, to act as navigation aids.

There have been light navigation aids in this area since the forteenth century. The earliest were beacons, basically a fire. As technology was applied, coal burners were used, followed by oil burners. Today's lighthouses are electrically powered. Lighthouses were once manned, today the majority are now automated.

There five lighthouses on or just off the Penwith coast. Two of the lighthouses, Pendeen and Tater Du, are shorebased, while the Godrevy, Longships and Wolf Rock are offshore. As well as the main lighthouses, there are the pier lighthouses Penzance, Newlyn and St Ives.

Shorebased

Off Shore Lighthouse As Seen From Sennen

For a lighthouse to be effective, the signal has to be visually differentiated from others in the same area. To do this, the period of flashing is different. For example, Penzance flashes every two seconds, while Newlyn a mile away flashes every 5 seconds. The signal can be further differentiated by varying the period the beam is on and off.

Lighthouses can also provide further information. As well as the main beam, there can be additional lighting.

This will show different colours depending on the relative position of the shipping to the lighthouse. It is generally used to highlight specific dangers.

The extra lighting can be a part of the main beam, possessing the same flashing period; or it can be a separate fixed light.

Godrevy Lighthouse  SW577436

The bay of St Ives is full of sandy beaches, the last place you would think a lighthouse would be needed. However, a dangerous reef named the Stones offshore has claimed much shipping over the centuries.

Hayle was an important foundry and smelting town in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The materials and products for this industry were transported  by sea. To protect shipping using Hayle, Godrevy Lighthouse was built in the 1850s.

Pendeen Lighthouse  SW379359

Pendeen lighthouse is situated between St Just and St Ives. It is now open to public and can be visited. Within the site is a shop.

For nearly 100 years Pendeen lighthouse has been guiding passing vessels, and warning of the dangerous waters around Pendeen Watch. The lighthouse was built in 1900. It is still functioning but is now automated. The lighthouse is over 50 feet high which enables the beam to be useful for up to 15 miles. The lighthouse flashes sixteen times a minute.

Longships  SW320253

The Longships are situated about a mile offshore. The rocks are so named because they resemble a flotilla of longships. The current lighthouse is the second built here. The original was built at the end of the eighteenth century. It was found to be too small and high waves broke over it, obscuring its light. Later in the 1870s it was replaced by a taller lighthouse. The Longships Lighthouse flashes every 10 seconds.

Wolf Rock  SW341254

Wolf Rock is a rocky outcrop off Lands End. Before the lighthouse was built in the 1860s it was the cause of many shipwrecks. This lighthouse is out at sea and unprotected, so receives a tremendous buffeting from storms. The lighthouse is unusual in that it has a helicopter pad on its top. The lighthouse flashes four times a minute.

Newlyn  SW467286

Located at the end of the South Pier. The lighthouse is cast iron, built in 1914.

Its beam is flashed every five seconds

Penzance  SW479302

This is found at the end of the South Pier. It is of a cast iron construction.

The beam is flashed every two seconds. There are two red sectors in the beam, warning about the rocks on either side of it.